Stronger Than Yesterday
by Jag-o-mite
Summary: After hearing inuyasha Betray and threaten her, kagome leaves for her time to become stronger, only to be captured by spirit detectives, who need her help with a new assignment.
1. Chp 1 I Am Kagome Higurashi

Re-Written

* * *

**Chp. 1 Decisions**

* * *

"Good job! Why don't you just stop and let me protect you like always." Inuyasha had yelled, while Kagome had been trying to develop her powers with Kaede.

She had been attempting, and failing miserably, to conjure a bow and arrow out of her miko, but all she had managed to produce was a small, wavering ball of light that immediately flickered out of existence and left her both physically and spiritually tired.

"Because Inuyasha, I want to help when we have to fight demons." Kagome told him, tired of having the same conversation I want to do more than point to the stupid and then hide behind you guys. I feel pathetic."

"That's because you are. Just tell us were we need to aim like a good little shard detector and shut up. That's your place."

Kagome took a deep breath, ready to put the hanyou in _his _place. "My _place_, Inuyasha?" But as she turned around, he was already gone. He could smell a sitting coming.

"Don't worry Kagome, you're getting better." Kaede told her soothingly. "He's just afraid that you won't need him one day."

"Well I just wish he'd get over himself and tell me personally." Kagome muttered, tired of getting her feeling hurt because the hanyou was too thickheaded to admit his feelings.

* * *

Later that night, and after everyone had gone to bed, Kagome, awaken by the movements of the kitsune in her sleeping bag, found herself missing one companion.

"Where's Inuyasha?' she asked herself as she sat up.

Being careful not to wake the sleeping kitsune by her side, nor any of her other friends, Kagome inched out of her sleeping bag and wandered outside. The night air was brisk, with the feel of on coming winter. Looking up into the night sky, Kagome relaxed, it was getting close to Inuyasha's time of the month and he was out sulking about it.

"Big baby." she muttered with a warm smile before heading off into the woods. Her mind made up to keep her moody hanyou company until he came to his senses.

She had gotten far enough into the woods that she began to worry again when she heard them. The whispering voice of lovers in the night. She froze on the spot, knowing that she'd only be hurting herself if she ventured further. She knew those voices, her heart was already constricting, yet her feet moved her further along.

The voices got louder and clearer as she slinked through the woods Then she saw them.

__

'Maybe she's trying to kill him again and he's talking sense into her.'Kagome

hopefully thought, but as she crouched behind some bushes, she saw from their body language that it was the complete opposite. '_Damn.' _

"I promise I'll always protect you Kikyo." Inuyasha said longingly as he swept his beloved into a one armed, yet intimate, hug.

"I know you will Inuyasha." Kikyo said running her hands through his hair.

"I love you, Kikyo." Inuyasha said leaning in for a kiss, but stopped as Kikyo leaned back and put a finger over his lips.

"What about my reincarnation?" she asked removing her hand for him to speak.

"What about her?" he asked agitated at her resistance.

"We can't be truly be together, Inuyasha. I'm only a shadow in this world without a whole soul." Kikyo said as she nuzzled Inuyasha's neck.

"So what do you want me to do?" he asked with an uncertain edge to my voice.

"I need the rest of my soul." She told him in a voice as cold as her body.

"You want me to kill her?" he asked in surprise as Kikyo stepped away from him. "Isn't their any other way?"

"If there was, do you think I'd be here?" Kikyo asked him sharply, but sensing that she was losing him, she edged back into his embrace and softened her

voice. "Please, being apart from you is worse than undeath."

"But…she trusts me, she loves me…" he pleaded quietly, as he inhaled her scent.

"I love you too, Inuyasha. I need you. And you love me too. You loved me first." Here she kissed him. "Don't let me go…again."

"I'll kill her before dawn, while everyone is still asleep," he finally answered after a pause before kissing her Kikyo passionately, and erasing Kagome from his heart.

Kagome, who had been watching sadly and was started to tear up, now became scared for her life. With moves, she didn't even know she had, she began running in her crouch position until she was out of Inuyasha's earshot and then ran with all her might until she was back in the village.

She made it back to the hut in record time and found that everyone was still sleeping. She thought about waking and telling them or not, but at the last minute she decided against it.

Quickly grabbing her essentials, Kagome left Shippo in the sleeping bag, threw her sack over her shoulder, and with a final, and long, look back at her

friends, Kagome headed for the door.

"Lady Kagome are you trying to sneak off again, without saying good-bye?" Miroku asked, as he awoke to see Kagome trying to escape, but as he saw her face filled with distress and fear, he knew it was more than sneaking off. "What is the matter?"

"Oh Miroku, he's going to kill me." She said distressfully, her voice flat with heartbreak.

"You must be mistaken, Kagome, it was probably just a nightmare."

"I wish it was, but I saw them. I heard them. They plan to get her soul back. He's going to kill me, for her."

He thought this over. "Well, you know we won't let him hurt you Kagome."

"I know, but I don't want you guys to get hurt over me."

"I'll miss you Kagome." He said sweeping her into a non-perverted hug. "Be safe."

She was shocked for a moment before returning the hug, and with a polite peck on the lips, she backed away. "I don't know what his reaction will be when he finds me gone."

"I'll let you get ahead before I wake the others. I'll get them awake and away from here before he knows what happens." Miroku promised, catching her unspoken warning.

"Good-bye Miroku." And with a last look, she grabbed her bag and darted out the door.

"So long, Kagome."

She was running again. She ran out the village, over the bridge, through the field, through the forest, and before she knew it she was at the well. Tossing her bag in she took one last look at the feudal age before she jumped. Leaving only a pained tear as a good-bye.

* * *

She sat at the bottom of the well in her own time now. Not crying, or thinking but just sitting. It was all she could do. She felt so numb. A sudden clap of thunder jolted her out of her trance. Climbing out of the well with bag in hand, she saw that there was a storm going on. Putting her bag down, she grabbed one of her grandpa's seals, and using the little bit of miko she could gather, she sealed the well with the one spell she successfully learned from Kaede.

She left the bag in the well house as she slowly made her way to the house, not caring that she was being soaked to the bone. Making it to the door, she turned the knob on the door to find it locked. She knocked so lightly that she doubted anybody heard it. She didn't care though, she felt like dirt.

As she stood at the door, she stared at it as if it was the cause of her problems. When the door was opened, she didn't even flinch at the sudden burst of light. There stood her mother holding the door open with one hand and her robe closed with the other.

"Kagome?" she asked taken aback, "I thought I heard someone out here."

"Mama!" Kagome cried as she launched herself onto her mother letting the tears she was holding in come out with vengeance. She sobbed loudly as she held onto her mother, knowing she couldn't stop the tears even if she tried.

"It's alright Kagome, come on and tell me what happened." She said as she led Kagome into the living room. By now, Sota and grandpa had arrived. And sat down listening to Kagome's story with a patience she never knew they had.

After she finally mamaged to get her story out, and they promised her that she never had to go back down the well, Kagome retired to her room, now in dry clothes and wrapped in blankets. She sat on her window sill, and watched the rain as her tears continued to fall.

She sighed a shaky sigh, as she frowned. She was so damn tired of crying.

* * *

It took a little over six months, but she did it. Her life was finally normal again.

She had brought her grades up, her friends no longer thought of her as terminally ill, and she was pretty sure she could beat any demon that came her way. Especially if it was a certain white-haired hanyou.

With him freshly on her mind, Kagome gave an extra edge to her attack as she kicked the hell out of her punching bag, fittingly named 'Inuyasha.'

She started training a few weeks after arriving home. And her family were more than supportive of her. Her mother and grandpa had turned the basement into a private gym for her. It was filled with a punching bag, mats, weights, Trampolines, back and abs machines, balance bars, a flat bench, a bicep blaster, a pec dec, elliptical trainers, a medicine ball, and an exercise bike. She studied kickboxing, martial arts, wrestling, and street fighting. She also tried some yoga to make herself flexible. Souta was the most helpful of them all. He was like her little trainer. He'd jog with her. Watch her exercise and sometimes acted as an opponent when she was sparring.

To come to think of it, she enjoyed spending time with her brother, especially with him so supportive. She even started getting him to become a better fighter, after he came home from school with a black eye and torn clothes, because of bullies.

Kagome wore gray spandex pants and a tank top, and had her hair in a ponytail. She had ankle and wrist weights on now as she punched the Inuyasha bag.

"Alright Kagome, that's enough. Time for a run." Souta said handing Kagome a towel and water bottle.

"Okay Souta and how about after that, I buy pizza?" Kagome asked as they walked out side.

"Sounds great." He said as he jumped on Kagome's back. Then she started her daily run with Souta on her back.

Today was Kagome's day to relax. Too bad she couldn't since her friends decided she needed to spend it with them.

"So Kagome, what ever happened to that guy you were going out with behind our backs." Yuri asked as they walked down the streets of Tokyo.

Kagome's turned red when she realized they were talking about Inuyasha. "Oh him, we were never really going out. But I wouldn't even if he was the last guy on earth, the bastard."

"So that means you're on the market again." Ayame said not un-nerved by Kagome's language.

"Yeah, I guess." Kagome said not liking where this was going.

"Too bad Hojo moved away huh?" said Ayame.

"Yeah." Kagome lied, she was actually glad.

"Well you need a boyfriend." Yuri said thinking

"No I don't really need anyone right now." Kagome said trying to get them to lie off.

"How about one of those guys over there?" Ayame asked.

"Didn't I just say I don't need anybody?"

"Where? What guys?" Yuri said looking around frantically.

"What are you looking for? I said no."

"Over there looking at us." Ayame said indicating across the street.

"Ooh there cute. Which one do you want Kagome? Kagome? Hey what's the matter?" Yuri asked looking concernedly at Kagome, who was currently frowning at the boys, who in return, were looking at her.

Kagome didn't pay any attention to her friends. She had sensed demonic energy from the boys staring at her. One was wearing a green suite, and had black slicked back hair. There was a tall goofy looking red head guy wearing a blue suite. There was another red head, wearing pink? He looked the nicest of the group, but she sensed the demon aura around him and the last guy. He looked the meanest, someone you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, cemetery, or anything dark. He had spiky black hair and a serious look, and he was the shortest of them all, wearing all black.

There was an eerie silence as Kagome stared at the strange guys, the strange guys stared at Kagome, and Yuri and Ayame stared at them both.

Kagome's eyes narrowed as they started to whisper among themselves. She knew she could fight them, but that would be endangering her friends and everyone else in the area.

"Umm Kagome, do you know them?" Ayame asked breaking the staring contest between them.

"No, come on. I...I don't feel very good now, take me home." she lied as they ushered her home.

When Kagome arrived home, it was dark out. Going up to her room, she ran herself a hot bath. She found herself doing this a lot. Soaking in the tub for thinking time.

While she soaked in the bath, she thought about those demons.

She stayed in the water until it started to get cold. Getting out she wrapped a towel around her and went in her room to put on her sleeping clothes. In her room, she got a sudden chill. Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked around for the source of coldness. The window, it was wide open. Walking over to it, she stuck her head out looking around for any sign of movement. Not seeing any she quickly stood up and slammed it closed. And the curtains.

The weekend came and went quickly. Too quickly for Kagome. It was a dreary day that looked as if it promised rain. The weather reflected Kagome's mood perfectly. She trudged her way slowly to school, all thoughts of demons gone from her head. She merely thought of the day ahead of her filled with evil teachers, gossiping friends, and guidance counselors who thought you would just breakdown at any moment.

Kagome made it to school about a minute before class. And as she sat with her friends gossiping, she started to feel cheery again, ignoring the faint throbbing of the Shikon jewel around her neck. It wasn't until the throbbing started pushing against her throat, making it hard to breathe, that she acknowledged it.

__

'Oh, no,'

She was so engrossed into thinking about the Shikon jewel shards around her neck; she didn't hear a word the teacher was saying. Not that anyone was though.

"Okay, you bunch quiet down." The teacher said at the front of the class. Catching everyone's attention.

"For some bizarre reason, the school board has chosen our school to receive transfer students."

"There are four of them, and they are from the other side of Tokyo. And luckily, they all have been put in my class." He said sarcastically. Going over to the door, he yanked it open then turned around and headed for his desk, where he sat down and began to read his newspaper. Four boys walked in looking around at the class. Kagome choked down the gasp that begged to be let out. 'Those are the guys from town.' She thought.

"These are the new transfer students." The teacher droned on behind his paper.

__

'That's why the Shikon jewel was acting funny.'

"Yuske, Kurama, Hiei, and Kuabawra take a seat, and be quiet."

__

'It's acting funny, because there after it.'

A sudden chill went down Kagome's spine. Looking up she saw why. The two guys with the demon auras had just passed her on either side, and they were very close. Glancing behind her to the left, she saw the red head with green eyes had sat a seat behind her on the row next to her. She also saw the two humans had taken seats at the back of the classroom. Looking back at the redhead demon, she began to analyze his type. 'A kitsune.' she noted in her mind.

Feeling her gaze on him Kurama looked up and gave her a gentle smile.

Realizing she had been caught staring quickly turned her head. After a few minutes, she looked over to the other demon. He had taken a seat by the window, and was currently staring out of it. Using this distraction to her benefit, she quickly analyzed this one. 'A fire demon,' she thought, 'but there's more than meets the eye on this firecracker.'

With his head still facing the window, Hiei glared at the girl, who was currently looking at him, out the corner of his eye. She seemed to notice this for she had tensed up and quickly faced the other way. He couldn't help it as a smirk soon adorned his face.

__

'Twice. I've been caught staring twice. They probably know I know now. Or they think I'm one of those girls who do nothing, but stare at cute guys.'

Now that she thought about it, she almost giggled at the thought that she was going to have a chance to finally see if her training had paid off. But that thought was pushed down as, she felt the pulsing of the Shikon jewel half around her neck. And it was at that precise time that she felt four pairs of eyes glaring, and staring at her from behind.

__

'Must keep this baby safe.'

She thought taking off the necklace and placing it in her bra.

__

'Now let them try to get it.'

She thought proudly as she took out her CD player and began to sketch in her sketchbook.

she thought, _this can't be good.'_ The teacher had came in by now and ordered the kids to get to there seats. And as she made her way dazedly to her seat, she subconsciously began to rub it.

* * *

__

'Whew this has been one long day.'

"Oh great." She yelled in frustration as she stooped down to gather her fallen things. "Thanks for helping people." She muttered as they walked over her stuff. Some even laughing.

"Is this yours?" A gentle voice asked in front of Kagome. She looked up into he green eyes of the kitsune. His three friends behind him.

"Umm, yeah thanks." She said quickly taking it and stuffing it in her book sack.

"I'm Kurama, by the way, and these are my friends Yuske, Kuabawra, and Hiei," he said as he knelt down in front of her to help, as his friends just nodded when they were named.

Kagome was silent a moment, before she realized that they wanted to know her name. "I'm Kagome."

"It's nice to meet you Kagome. My friends and I were wondering if you could show us around the school, we can hardly find anything without becoming lost."

Gathering the last of her things in her backpack, and zipping it thoroughly, she stood up and swung it onto her back. She glanced around and making sure that they were the only ones left in the hall, and then gave the boys in front of her a good glare.

"Oh come off it foxy, how dumb do you think I am? Firstly, you've been here half the day, and you just decided to ask someone for a tour. And secondly I don't go off with strange demons, and their pet humans, I don't know."

They were startled at first, before what she said registered on their mind.

Kurama looked impressed.

Hiei was smirking.

And...

"WE ARE NOT THEIR PETS!" Kuabawra and Yuske screamed at the same time.

Yuske then stepped forward. "I'm Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit detective, and if you ever insult me like that again you'll regret it." He said brandishing a fist in her face. She didn't even flinch.

Looking at his fist, she pushed it slowly out of her face with her hand then looked him calmly in the eyes. "Was that supposed to intimidate me? And what is a spirit detective?"

"Wait you mean to tell me you know about demons, but not spirit detectives. I'm confused," Kuwabara, asked scratching his head.

"Yeah, that's right. Now what do you want?" Kagome snapped at them.

"We are here to retrieve the Shikon jewel shards you possess." Hiei spoke up, startling Kagome.

"Well I'm sorry you came all the way over here for nothing, because you aren't getting it." She then turned around to leave, only to come face to face with Hiei.

"I'd change my mind if I were you, girl." He sneered.

Looking him in the eye, she smiled. "I'm shaking in my little skirt?" this only made him madder.

"Hand it over, girl." he growled reaching his hand out to grab her, but Kagome, who had been training her miko skills, had trained her eyes to see even the slightest movemnets, and when he stuck his hand out, she grabbed it caught him in the stomach with her foot and sent him flying over her head and into the others.

She now stared at them in a crouched position, with a wicked grin on her face, and just as Hiei was about to attack again. She was gone. Leaving only her laughter. And four dazed boys.

Kagome thought as all the kids left for their break. Packing her bag hurriedly, she rushed out with the rest before she was left alone with the demons. She had made it halfway down the hall when her book sack decided to throw up her belongings. It seemed in her rush she had forgotten to zip it up all the way.

* * *

After school, Kagome slipped away from her friends and the boys, and made it home without a problem.

"Mom? Grandpa? Sota?" she yelled into the quiet house.

No answer.

"Wonder where they are?" she asked herself.

Walking into the kitchen, she snuck some cake out of the refrigerator. Closing the door, she finally noticed the note pinned to it.

Dear Kagome

Grandpa stubbed his toe on a tree root today. We have taken him to the hospital. We will try to be back as soon as possible. And don't eat any more cake.

Mom

P.S Make sure to take your jog, and exercise.

Souta

Sighing Kagome finished her piece of cake, and headed upstairs for her exercise suit.

After a few stretches in her yard, Kagome began her run, taking the stairs one at a time with her ponytail flopping behind her like a... something that flops. Once reaching the end of the steps, Kagome turned and went towards the city where she got practice in agility by jogging through the crowds of people in town.

Waving to familiar faces, and just nodding at people she didn't know, she headed to the park, where she would turn and head home

She jogged to a secluded area of the park where thick trees grew. This was her daily routine and she loved this part of the park. Here she would rest on he lone bench in privacy before beginning her trek home.

She was catching her breath on the bench, when two newly familiar auras hit her senses.

__

'Uh-oh, time to go.

But it was too late. As she stood up to leave, there in her path stood Yusuke and Kuabawra, smirking at her. Turning on her heel she tried the other way, but found it also blocked by Hiei and Kurama.

"Now you weren't trying to leave were you?" Hiei smirked as she sneered at them and started to back up.

'Shit!' she muttered at they closed in on her. She didn't hear what they were saying and she didn't care. All she knew was that she had to escape. Smirking she gathered her energy to perform her vanishing act.

Casting the spell, she made a wild dash towards the exit, only to see Kurama and Hiei already standing there.

"Huh? How? Why aren't you? Why didn't my spell work on you?" Kagome stammered.

"Because we're invincible." Yusuke told her cockily. And the next thing Kagome knew were two strong arms being wrapped around her. Pinning her arms to her side. Thrashing her feet around frantically, Kagome tried with all her might to shake the person off, with no avail.

"I'll scream rape, I swear I will!"

"Would you please calm down Miss Higurashi, this won't hurt a bit." Kurama said politely, ignoring the scowl Kagome was giving him as he held a yellow flower in her face, which spurted out an orange fume.

As Kagome inhaled the gas, she began to feel dizzy. The last thing she saw before sub coming to the darkness clouding her mind, was a blue haired girl, on an oar?

' Her mind screamed to her.

* * *

When Kagome had awoken, she had to blink a few times for the room to come into focus. The first thing she noticed was that she had been tied up by some black rope that came somewhere from the ceiling, which had her hanging about 5ft from the floor. Looking around she noticed she was in an office, alone.

Realizing this she began to think of some kind of escape plan. But before a plan could formulate, the door to the office opened, and five figures walked in.

_'Oh look it's my four favorite kidnappers, and a baby.'_ Kagome thought as she eyed them with an evil glare no sign of a blue haired girl anywhere.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake Miss Higurashi." The new guy said now standing in front of Kagome, unwary of her glare.

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Kagome asked.

"Ahem, I am Koenma prince of the spirit world, and I have summoned you miko, Higurashi, Kagome, to help my spirit detectives on their next assignment. To find 5 magical relics."

"What do you need me for? That sounds pretty easy enough."

"The relics were made by a powerful miko, by the name of Midoriko. These relics alone are very powerful, but combined can make a tremendously powerful weapon."

"Which is?" Kagome dragged out.

"Don't know." Koenma said causing everyone to sweat drop.

"And why do you need me again?"

"Because the relics were made by a miko so they can be easily found with a miko."

"Well tough cookies cause I ain't doing it." Kagome said sticking her tongue out at him, satisfied with herself.

"But you are the only known miko in history." Koenma whined.

"Too bad, too sad."

"Hmm. I thought that might be your answer. So that is why I've had the decency to have this made for you," he said pulling out a black band as wide as a basketball.

Stepping closer to Kagome he put it over her head, were it immediately shrunk to fit her neck like a chocker, and a little blue gem appeared in the middle.

It was a collar.

Gasping, Kagome swung her legs up and locked them around Koenma's neck "GET THIS OFF ME YOU JERK!" she screamed while trying to choke the life out of him.

Kagome had been so enraged that she didn't notice that someone had pried her legs off Koenma's neck until she saw him straightening his clothes with a calm expression on his face like nothing had happened, although his neck was pretty red.

"Now. Ahem. Miss Higurashi. This coll..." he started to say but stopped after seeing the look Kagome gave him. "Err I mean. This choker is linked spiritually to the four people standing behind you there."

Kagome didn't need to look to know who he was talking about. She just continued to stare at him. "So how is this going to keep me from not helping you?" she asked with begrudged interest.

"Well let's just say it keeps you from killing or being out of a mile of either of them. Or you would be put under 120 watts of electricity."

"Ah. I see." she said eyebrows disappearing into he bangs.

There was a strained silence.

"So, how am I supposed to help you again?" she asked in a defeated tone.

"Good girl." Koenma said as he snapped his fingers. And the rope that held Kagome gently lowered her to the floor, where she stood with her back to the spirit detectives, arms crossed and nose in the air. Listening to what Koenma said although it looked as if she wasn't paying attention.


	2. Chp 2 Welcome to the Demon World

**

* * *

**

Chp. 2

* * *

It wasn't long until Kagome found herself, walking home with the four spirit detectives. She stood walking behind them, occasionally calling out directions towards her home.

Koenma had told her about the three worlds. The demon, human, and spirit. There're mission was to take place in the demon world. Koenma had a summerhouse there, and that's where they were to stay.

So this is why Kagome was currently walking home with the four spirit detectives, to get her things. They had already been to Yuske's, Kuabawra's, and Kurama's house. And that's where they were supposed to stay and wait for a girl named Botan to take them to the demon world.

Arms folded and head downcast a little Kagome began mumbling to herself:

"Stupid hanyou, stupid demons, stupid spirit detectives. Why am I always finding things? First the Shikon no Tama, now this. Maybe I should just be an archeologist. Yeah...that's it. I'll become an archeologist. I'll find things for a living. That seems like the only thing I'm good at, and I'll get paid for it too."

After Exchanging curious glances, Hiei and Kurama stared off into space, each in deep thought, having overheard her mumbling.

**What do you think she meant about that?'** Hiei thought to Kurama.

_I do not know Hiei, but we'll have plenty of time to figure out.'_

**What if she doesn't feel like sharing?'**

_Then...'_

**We'll beat it out of her.'**

_No! Everyone is entitled to their own past. She'll tell if she wants.'_

**Whatever, fox.'**

"We're here." Kagome's voice rang out, ending there conversation.

They stopped to let her pass them, before starting there long trek up the stairs.

As Kagome was climbing the steps, she couldn't help but think, 'This might be fun. I mean I'm going to the demon world where I can test to see if my training was enough, and if it isn't I have four guys backing me up.' With theses positive thought running through her mind she couldn't help but let her anger sweep away, a little, and let a smile grace her lips.

They reached the top of the stairs without any hassles, and Kagome in lighter spirits.

* * *

"Mom, Grandpa, Sota!" Kagome yelled into the empty, quiet house. Good they're still out.' she thought as she beckoned the boys in.

They made their way to her room, where Kagome immediately began packing things into her big yellow bag. As she was packing, the boys did their own things. Hiei was staring out the window, Kuabawra was playing with Buyo, Kurama sat on Kagome's bed reading a book he had found on her dresser, and Yuske was rummaging through her closet.

"Hey Kagome don't forget to pack this!" Yuske yelled pulling out some scanty, red, silk, sexy, lingerie, that her friends had gotten her as a joke. It wasn't funny when she got it and it wasn't funny now.

"Ahhh, give me those!" yelled a very red-faced Kagome.

Stomping over to Yuske, she slapped him up side his head, (I said oops, up side your head, I said oops upside your head.) grabbed the scanty clothing, pushed all four of them out of the room, then slammed the door loudly in their faces.

"Way to go Urameshi." Kuabawra said blandly to Yuske, who, was howling with laughter on the floor. Kurama and Hiei just simply walked off.

The boys had been downstairs for a while before Kagome came down. They were in the living room, doing pretty much the same thing they did in Kagome's room, only now Yuske was watching TV.

Thumping on the stairs gave the signal that Kagome was coming. They looked over to the stairs and saw a completely different looking Kagome.

Her hair was down, and now longer, it was down to her butt. She wore a tight red shirt that said in black across the chest Keep staring and see what happens', tight leather pants, and combat boot that strapped together like in-line skates. She also wore a long black trench coat that went to her ankles. Her big yellow sack hanging on her shoulder.

"Hey!" Kagome yelled after an awkward silence, "can't you read the shirt, divert your eyes."

After hearing this, the boys looked away as if she hadn't been there.

_My gawd, they actually did it.'_ Kagome thought with a smirk as she entered the living room area. Dropping the sack by the couch Kagome took of her coat off **(well she is inside),** and headed into the kitchen. Her back to them the spirit detectives glanced back up at her only to start blushing. There wasn't a back to her shirt, instead it was laced together with a skinny red rope, and ended up in a little bow at the bottom.

Seeing that Kuabawra was staring too hard with his mouth open. Yuske found it his job to slam it shut.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare monkey?" Yuske said grinning

After a few minutes, Kuabawra retorted "Hey who you calling monkey Urameshi? Don't call me a monkey."

"You just answered your own question moron." Hiei said with a smirk.

"Watch yourself shorty." Kuabawra yelled now facing Hiei.

"You're right, I'm sorry." Yuske said sincerely.

"I accept your apology, Yuske." Kuabawra said with his arms crossed, nose in the air in a satisfied manner.

"I wasn't apologizing to you; I was apologizing to the monkey."

"Hn." (Yeah, I finally was able to put in an Hn. I didn't know where to put them

Meanwhile Kagome had gone to the kitchen for a Popsicle. She was now sitting on the counter, watching the fight unfold, eating her Popsicle merrily. By now Kurama and made it to her side and was leaning his back on the counter.

"Are they always like this, foxy?" Kagome asked after a while.

"Yes. But Hiei only ever gets into it every once and a while." he replied calmly, watching her eat the Popsicle out of the corner of his eye.

"I see." she sad licking her lips. "So, what are they all like?"

"Let's see?" he said thoughtfully watching his fighting partners. "We can start with Yuske. He is what seems to be the leader of this...um group. He is very loud, rude, mean, and obnoxious. But he is also brave, strong, and caring. Kuabawra is...well...let's just say...we don't really need him that much. He might be strong, but he is weak compared to us. He is not very smart, and girl crazy. But when needed he pulls through."

"What about firecracker?" she asked letting the information sink in.

"Hiei? Well he's not the most trusting, he's had a hard life. He allows himself to be miserable. He's quiet and hardly speaks. He's not shy, it's just he thinks very highly of himself, and thinks everyone weak and useless, until they have gained his respect, which is very rare. He's lives in solitude; he doesn't let anyone closer than he feels necessary, which isn't very close. He doesn't even allow his sister to know of his existence. But I don't want you to have too much of a bad perception on Hiei. He does most of theses things, to protect the people close to him."

"Oh. So what about yourself?" Kagome asked as she threw the Popsicle stick in the garbage, then turning to him.

But before she could get her answer, the doorbell rang.

Jumping down Kagome ran past the arguing trio, to the door. Opening it up, she came face to face, with a bubbly blue haired girl, with pink eyes, in a pink kimono.

"Oh hello Kagome it's nice to see you awake.

"Umm..."

"I'm Botan, the grim reaper."

"Uh..."

"I'll be the one taking you to the demon world. "

"Eh..."

"Are the boys in there?"

"Ye..."

"Well great tell them to hurry up we don't have all day."

Kagome stood there blinking at the overly cheerful spirit girl.

"No need. We're already here." A voice said behind Kagome. Moving out of the way Kagome let the guys pass with her bag and coat, so that she could shut and lock the door.

Turning around she saw the guys standing by Botan, who now adorned an oar in her hand. I'm not even gonna ask' she thought in her head as she took her place by her new cough captives cough friends.

"So are you ready?" Botan asked them.

"Yeah."

"Whatever."

"Hn."

"Sure"

"Yes."

Without a warning, Botan opened the portal and they were all sucked in.

* * *

Kagome didn't know if she lost consciousness or if she had fallen asleep, cause all she knew was opening her eyes, seeing the spirit detectives and Botan about 50ft below her, a pain in her stomach, and being out of breath.

"I'm so sorry Kagome that must have been you first time through a portal." She heard Botan's voice say as she stood up on the steady branch of the tree.

"Oh no I'm fine. The tree didn't hurt much. It's just hard to breath. But why ask me about that?" Kagome said sarcastically to her self before she jumped off the branch to land gracefully behind the group.

Giving her an impressed look they started off down the trail, after giving her, her bag and coat back though.

_Well here I go again. Following demons through a strange land to find some mystical object.'_ Kagome thought as they walked down the trail.

* * *

They traveled down that trail for what felt like hours before they finally came to the house.

It looked like Naraku's castle only cheerier, and two-stories.

"Now this is where I'll be leaving. Now this is the house you'll be staying in. The town is over that way, she said pointing east through the batch of trees, oh and before I forget, here." Pulling out a flat, circular stone, she threw it at Yuske, who caught it with his face.

"What is this?" Kagome asked picking the stone off Yuske's face. Turning it over she noticed it had different shaped carvings in it where it looked as if something was supposed to go there. She didn't know why, but she felt some kind of vibration of energy coming from it.

"Oh that. You have to place the relics there in those holes, and supposedly when all the relics have been put in place the so called powerful weapon is supposed to form," she said in her cheery voice.

"Cool"

"Really?"

"Interesting."

"HN."

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU HIT ME WITH IT?"

* * *

The inside of the shrine was very modern. The door they walked into lead to a living room. The carpet was a pinkish color. There was an entertainment center with a big screen. Two white couches. One a love seat. A coffee table was in the middle of the room with pillows surrounding it.

There were two steps that lead to an upper level floor. There were two sliding doors. The one on the left, next to the stairs, was a closet. And the one to the back lead to the kitchen.

"Not bad." Yuske said as they looked around.

Kagome would have agreed if she were down to hear it. She had made it her duty to choose the first room.

She checked all the rooms till she found one that took her breath away.

It was a very large room. The carpet was white and felt beneath her toes like it (if she had her boots and socks off) was made of silk. The dresser was made from white marble. Her bed was a canopy bed. The drapes surrounding it were white satin with gold trimmings. The comforter and pillows where also white with gold trimmings. The comforter also had a big golden sun on it.

The curtains surrounding the windows where satin white. They hid the double windows that led to the balcony.

She dropped her sack and relic holder on the floor. Stepping out into the hall, she yelled down the stairs.

"I FOUND MY ROOM. NEVER ENTER IT." Then she slammed the door.

* * *

At Kagome's home.

"Kagome dear we're back." Mrs. Higurashi called out for her daughter as she opened the door for her father and son to enter.

Grandpa had broken his toe. So his foot was in a cast, and he had to use crutches.

"Doctors don't know what they're talking about. My foot feels fine. All I had to do was wrap up in a little crow's liver and it would have been just fine in the morning." Grandpa grumbled to Sota.

"Yeah gramps. I know." Sota said as he moved out of Grandpa's way.

"Oh dear." Mrs. Higurashi said as she entered the hallway.

"What is it mom. Did Kagome eat all the cake?"

"No. It's this note I found from Kagome."

"Well, what does it say?" grandpa yelled from the living room.

"Well it would seems Kagome's been captured by these four boys from school. Who turned out to be demons. She says they call themselves spirit detectives. It also says their boss, the prince of the spirit world, has her linked to them so she can't leave or kill them. She also says the he sent them and her to the demon world to find some artifacts made long ago by a miko. So they need her miko powers to find them."

"Oh is that all?" grandpa said as he propped his foot upon the couch.

"Those poor boys." Mrs. Higurashi said sympathetically.

"Those poor demons. My granddaughter has not been training for nothing."

"Mom? Can I go with Kagome on one of her adventures?" Sota asked giving his mother big pleading eyes.

Smiling down at her son, she brushed his hair out of his eyes lovingly. "When you're older." She replied

* * *

It was later that night, when Kagome thought everyone was asleep, that she snuck out to explore.

She wore nothing but a 10x oversized shirt, and some spandex shorts. She didn't have any shoes so she could sneak around quietly, and she wore no socks because she didn't fell like slipping on the floor and breaking her...well you know. She carried four marbles in one hand as she searched for the boys' auras. Feeling Yuske's she stopped in front of the door across from hers.

Opening the door as quietly as she could, she slipped into the room closing the door behind her. On entering the room, she couldn't help but notice a few things.

1) Like her room was white. His room was blue. Very blue.

2) His cover was strewn about around the floor by his bed.

3) He was snoring very loudly.

And

4) Yuske. Sleeping in his boxers. On his back. Mouth wide open. And one arm clutching a pillow in a death grip. She couldn't but notice how cute he looked without all that gel in his hair. (Even though he still looked cute with it.)

Holding in her laughter Kagome placed one of the marbles on his bedside table. Where it began to glow a blue-purple color.

As quietly as she entered, she left.

Walking further down the hall, she felt another one of the boy's aura. Stopping at the door it was coming from she opened it a tad. She saw green. A lot of green. A lot of different shades of green. But green nonetheless.

Slipping into the room, she noticed Kurama's head peeking out from under his green comforter. Holding her breath she quickly, but silently made her way to his bedside table. Placing the marble down she didn't stay to wait for it to start glowing before darting out the door. Being a demon Kurama could have woken up anytime, and she didn't want to be caught in his room before the marble took affect.

Creeping down the hall towards the third and weakest aura. She carelessly walked into the red room, where Kuabawra was sleeping sprawled half in and out of his bed. He had the courtesy to wear his pants to sleep. Hopping over his head (which was on the floor.), she placed the marble by his head and bounded out of the room.

Kagome steadily made her way towards the last aura, Hiei's.

Standing at Hiei's door, she took a few deep breaths while rolling the last and biggest marble in her hand.

Taking one more deep breath, she opened the door. With the door finally open, she saw the color of Hiei's room.

It was black. (Bet you were surprised there huh.) Not different shades of black. Just black. Pitch black to be precise. And if she hadn't trained her eyes, she wouldn't have been able to see anything. And if she hadn't any self-control she would have gasped when she saw Hiei sitting up against the head of the bed arms folded across his chest. She stood there frozen to the spot. It took a while before she noticed that his eyes were closed.

Heart pounding in her ears Kagome made her way to side of his bed, never taking her eyes of his face.

But just as she made it to the table, her feet became entangled in something on the floor. Looking down she saw that it was Hiei's overcoat. (What is that anyway? It's like a cross between a trench coat and a poncho.) Carefully and quietly, Kagome slipped her feet out of the trap. Looking up Kagome nearly screamed. Hiei was looking right at her, a scowl on his face.

"What the hell are you doing in here wench?" he growled.

Kagome's lip trembled. What was she doing in here?

"GO TO SLEEP THREE EYES!" she yelled, knowing that it wouldn't wake anyone up now, she tossed the marble at his head, which he caught and went straight into a state of unconsciousness. By the time all this happen Kagome was already downstairs in the living room.

She was going to have to answer some questions in the morning.

After catching her breath, Kagome let out a little cough and stood up straight.

"Well I do believe that went well." She said. Straitening her clothes, Kagome went off exploring.

* * *

So far, she had found nothing except two bathrooms. One a regular bathroom. The other a hot spring tub. Promising herself to use it later, she went off again. She had found a library, and more rooms. She found the kitchen and was currently heading down into the basement.

"Someone needs to fire the made." Kagome said as she sneezed from all the dust she stirred up as she walked down the stairs. The light from the kitchen was not penetrating the darkness of the cellar.

At the bottom of the stairs, with one hand over her mouth, and the other in the air looking for a light.

Feeling a rope bump her hand, she grabbed it then pulled.

Looking around the cellar Kagome saw that it wasn't just any kind of cellar. It was a wine cellar.

The cellar was large. And I mean large. Very large. About as large as a library. With rows and rows of wine, instead of books.

Walking along the rows, she looked at all the different kinds of wine, and champagne. Pulling out a bottle of wine, she blew the dust off and looked at the name and year. Getting an impish smile, she said aloud. "Well I always wanted to tell good wine from bad."

* * *

The next morning the came down to a very amusing, yet sad, sight. Kagome lay, on her back, sprawled, over the couch, her feet hanging off the back. Empty bottles and glasses were on the coffee table in front on her. Her over-sized shirt had come up a little, showing her stomach. Her face was a little red, her mouth was open in a smile, and she was snoring loudly.

Yuske and Kuabawra were down and out laughing, Kurama was smiling softly, and Hiei...Hiei was being Hiei.

"Hiei maybe this would be a good opportunity to get some answers?" Kurama said calmly.

"I still say we could beat it out of her fox." Hiei replied looking at Kagome in disdain.

"You're just mad because she beat you when we were in school." Yuske piped in loudly.

"And what if I am?" he snapped back angrily. Giving first Yuske then Kagome a fierce and just plain evil glare.

"O-Kay...So...what answers are you looking for?" Yuske asked Kurama diverting his eyes away from Hiei. Who, at the moment, was still glaring at Kagome with his jagan eye glowing through his bandana.

"Well Yuske, yesterday as we were heading towards lady Kagome's house, we heard her mumbling some very peculiar things..." Kurama said staring at Kagome, who was now moaning in her sleep.

"Stupid hanyou...stupid demons...thickheaded wolf youkai...stupid, dead, bitchy, walking corpse, of an ex-miko trying to steal my soul...dumb mutt trying to help her."

At this, everyone was staring at Kagome strangely with raised eyebrows.

"Mumblings...like...I don't know...that?" Yuske asked even though he had a pretty good idea that it was.

"Yes. Exactly like that?"

"Maybe the shrimp should enter her mind and find out what she's talking about." Kuabawra, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up.

"What?" he asked out loud when he realized they were staring at him with frowns of disbelief.

"That's what we're doing now." Yuske told him.

"Doing what now?" he asked stupidly.

"Gawd you're stupid." Yuske mumbled under his breathe, as he turned back to watch Hiei and Kagome."

"I miss you all...Miroku, you big pervert...Sango, my sister...and my poor little kit..." her face began to frown.

"GET OU OF MY HEAD FIRECRACKER!" she whined in her sleep, and the next thing they knew was being thrown back a few feet, from her miko powers flaring up. Kurama had known that was gonna happen so he had jumped back just in time, only his hair had been singed.

Hiei wasn't as lucky, he was caught off guard, but being a speed demon, he put up his arms to block the full blast of her aura. The cloth that he kept wrapped around his arms was now gone, leaving his skin burned, raw, red, and black. **(I'd have a side order of Hiei, extra crispy.)**

"Don't you know it's not nice to take advantage of a girl when she's out cold and drunk?" A now awake, but sick feeling, Kagome said as she woozily got up off the couch and made her way up the stairs.

With Kagome up the stairs, the boys turned to Hiei, who was picking himself up, looking, and flexing his arms.

"So, did you find anything?" Kurama asked.

Looking up at Kurama with a slight shocked expression, he shook his head no, and then stared back down at his charred arms.

"Just images. Images of demons, and humans. Most were of a white-haired hanyou, a kitsune pup, a demon exterminator and her demon cat, and a lecherous monk. And there were also many flashes of a hanyou, in a baboon pelt."

* * *

Kagome arrived down stairs an hour and a half later, fully dressed and with a humungous headache.

**(Okay boys and girls, this is a little game we're gonna play. It's called "Dress Up the Miko". Okay this is how we play; every time Kagome changes clothes, we're gonna have her in...Whatever you want. I'll start it. Since I am the authoress and all. You send in your suggestions in the reviews. Okay, let the games begin...trumpets)**

She was wearing a gray, black, and white plaid mini skirt. A white button shirt that was tied in the front at the bottom, and short black coat on top of it, it came down past her chest. Her hair was done up into to pigtails, she wore white knee-high socks, and black closed toe sandals.

The boys were in the kitchen sitting here and there eating scrambled eggs and bacon. Only Kurama and surprisingly Yuske were the only ones to look up when she entered.

"Good morning lady Kagome." Kurama said politely.

He only got a grunt in reply. Turning around to fix herself something to eat, Kagome came face to face with; the brown-eyed wonder himself, Yuske Urameshi. He was giving her an irritated look. Her eye started to twitch, up close, she could tell that he had bushy eyebrows they reminded her of Miroku.

"May I help you? Haven't you ever heard of personal space?" she asked him staring openly at his eyebrows then into his eyes.

His eye twitched this time. "Here. Drink this." He told her, shoving a glass into her chest. Never taking his eyes off her face.

Looking down at the contents in the glass, she saw that it was a reddish-orangish-yellow color. Looking back at him, she gave him an innocent smile, and cocked her head to the side. "What is it?"

His eye twitched again. "It's for your hangover." He said placing a finger to her forehead.

"Oh." she said cheerfully. Taking the glass out of her chest, out of his hand. She placed the other hand on his chest, pushed him back from her, and then drowned the glass.

Setting the glass down she wiped her mouth with her hand, and began to jump up and down wile shaking her head.

"Eww, Yucky." She said as she made disgusted gestures with her mouth. Settling down she removed her hand from Yuske's chest and began to leave the kitchen, ignoring the boys' looks.

Just as she passed Yuske, she felt a tug, and a lift.

"Nice skirt. How are you gonna fight in that?" he asked her calmly, as if he wasn't violating anything.

Without warning, a mallet appeared in Kagome's hand and she knocked Yuske into the back wall.

On the floor, if he hadn't parted his legs, he would have lost something important, because as soon as he landed on the floor a butcher knife had came flying at him.

"Thanks for noticing, and don't worry about me, I'm used to fighting and traveling in skirts." She said happily beaming at him, a mallet nowhere in sight.

"No problem, always here to help." Yuske said breathing shakily, but not without a grin.

After winking, and blowing Yuske a kiss, she took off up the stairs

"Whew! Man that was weird." Yuske said steady grinning as he picked himself up off the floor.

* * *

"Are we there yet? My feet hurt. I'm hungry. How long have we've been walking? My head hurt. My bra too tight. My booty shaking from the left to the right. Left. Right. Left, right, left right. You hanky panky, you sho is stanky. My booty shaking from the left to the right. Left. Right. Left, right, left, right." Kagome sung aloud in the forest, as they made their way to town.

"WHAT!" she yelled when they stopped to look at her with crazy looks. "I'm bored."

"Why don't you amuse yourself by shutting up?" Hiei snapped at her.

"Why don't I amuse myself by purifying you?" she snapped back.

"Is that a threat?" he asked putting a hand on the hilt of his katana

"No, it's a promise." She growled back.

"Well then what are you waiting on?"

"I'm waiting on you Hiei. Come on Hiei. Make a move. Boy I'll just purify your legs so that you'll be even more jacked up than you already is. Boy I'll skin you live, like a cat stuck in a fire on a hot July equator afternoon."

Silence.

Twitching eyes.

"Say what now?" Yuske asked.

"Hey look!" Kagome yelled all cheery again. "We made it." Not waiting for a response, she took off ahead of them.

"That girl is Weird!" Yuske blurted out, again with grin.

The others openly agreed with him by nodding their heads.

* * *

Upon leaving the forest. They found themselves behind a tall building. And on the ground on the side of the building was Kagome. Flat on her back, smoking, and unconscious, with the occasional twitch here and there.

To say the least, the spirit detectives didn't look concerned.

"What happened to her?" Kuabawra asked as he bent down by her side and poked her cheeks with his finger.

"Well it would seem she ran too far ahead. The collar doesn't allow her being further a mile away from us." Kurama replied calmly.

"Well wake her up. We're wasting time." Yuske huffed impatiently.

"WAKE UP WENCH!" Hiei yelled, scowling a Kagome's immobile figure.

"SIT BOY! WHAT DID I...oh?" Kagome had jumped to her feet in a fit when she heard the word wench. Seeing who it was she stopped her ranting. Abruptly turning her back to them, she scratched the back of her head.

"So which way to go?" she asked in an overly cheerful voice.

"You're the miko. Don't you sense anything you stupid wench?"

Turning around to face them she blinked at them with a blank face. After a few more blinks, she smiled cheerily at them. "Oh yeah...I forgot." Ignoring the looks, they gave her; she reached behind her back and pulled out the relic holder Botan had given them.

"Lets see. Which one is closer?" she said running her hands over the holes. Running her hand over a particular hole, she got a shock and gasped at the wave of visions that raced through her mind.

After the visions stopped, she put the holder behind her back, where it disappeared from view. Ignoring the boys, she turned on her heel and took out for the street.

"We better follow, before she gets herself killed."

"Hn." Hiei said before they followed her.

They found her in front of the building, on the sidewalk, amidst the crowd of traveling demons. She seemed to be looking for something.

As the spirit detectives congregated around Kagome, the demons began to give them cautious looks and began skirting around them. Before long the number of demons began to diminish.

The spirit detectives noticed this. Some were feeling smug, one was calm & collective, and one was clueless.

Quiet. That's what it was. Quiet. That's what brought Kagome back to reality.

"Whoa!" she said astonished as she looked at her surroundings. "Where did all the demons go?" she asked in a childish voice.

The spirit detectives just shrugged.

An uncomfortable silence. The wind blew. A piece of paper flew and landed on Kagome's leg. Bending down to pick it up, she saw why the demons had disappeared.

On the piece of paper was a picture of Yuske. On either side of him were both Hiei and Kurama. Kuabawra was half hidden behind the three. Below the picture was written:

**WARNING**

Highly armed and dangerous.

Wanted for the murder of millions of innocent bystanders.

Beware.

These three are the evil lackeys of Lord Koenma.

They go by the names:

Yuske, Kurama, and Hiei.

Are sometimes found around with a bald orange haired monkey.

He too can be dangerous when provoked.

The spirit detectives,

As they have been called,

Hunt down and slaughter all who have

"Done wrong"

In their, and the eyes of Koenma and Emma.

Heed with caution.

If possible, avoid.

Smirking to herself, Kagome folded up the piece of paper and put it with the relic holder.

"Which way to go?"

"Ahh...who said that?" Kagome yelled looking around. Seeing the Spirit Detectives staring at her like she was an alien, smiled a cheesy smile. "We go this way." She said pointing down the street as she began to walk.

"Hey, hey, hey. Now wait." Yuske yelled as he ran to catch up with her, as she stopped by a tall wooden fence. "How do you know we go that way? Are you sure?"

"Well of course I'm sure silly. I can sense it."

"Well okay if you're sure. Lead the way my little relic detector." Yuske said jokingly holding his hand out in front of her so she could walk ahead. He had meant it as a joke, but Kagome didn't think it was funny.

With as much ferocity as she could muster at that moment with the anger she felt. Kagome grabbed Yuske around the neck, and slammed him against the wall, feet suspended in the air. Her collar was beginning to crackle with black electricity, but she was either ignoring the pain, or she was too angry to feel it.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, YOU HEAR ME! I AM NOT YOUR RELIC DETECTOR. I'M NOT YOUR ANYTHING! I BELONG TO NO ONE! NO ONE! I'M ONLY HELPING YOU BEACAUSE OF THIS ACCURSED COLLAR, AND BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE FUN! AND THE ONLY THING KEEPING ME FROM KILLING YOU IS BECAUSE I NEED YOU. SO GET THIS THROUGH YOUR THICK HEAD, BEFORE I DO SOMETHING WE BOTH REGRET, I AM NOT A PIECE OF PROPERTY! I BELONG TO NO ONE!" After shoving him against the wall once more for good measure, she dropped him where she stood, then took off marching down the sidewalk.

"NO ONE!" she yelled again as she punched the wall, leaving a good size hole.

Hiei and Kurama watched as she disappeared around the corner, and then looked over to Yuske, who was being helped up by Kuabawra.

Their eyes only widened momentarily as they saw, red and raw, around Yuske's throat; her finger prints. Looking at each other with quizzical looks, they both shared the same thoughts. _'She didn't look that strong.'

* * *

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READ AND REVIEW PEOPLE. IT HELPS ME WRITE FASTER AND BETTER.


	3. Chp 3 Dew Drop In

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Chp. 3 Dew Drop Inn

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* * *

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_'_**W**_ho does he think he is? Acting like he owns the world. I should've sat him for that...gasp...no, no Kagome. He's not Inuyasha; he is apart of your past now, try not to think of him. Think of other things. Think of food, yes-lovely food. Oden, cake, ice cream. Oh no now I'm hungry. Okay now Kagome think of something else. Think of guys. Yes, guys. Butts, abs, muscles, big feet. Whoa now Kagome get your mind out the gutter.'_

Kagome had traveled quite a bit ahead of the group during her ramblings inside her head.

Still the streets were deserted but she could feel demonic auras hiding among the many shops, trees, and some in the sewer. She had been passing a particular antique shop when a wave of extremely familiar energy washed over her.

Stopping, Kagome analyzed the energy. Miko energy. Feeling exceptionally giddy, she entered.

On opening the door, a tinkling of a bell sounded.

The shop was old and musty, and filled with even older dustier merchandise.

Walking amongst the isles she looked at all the different things set up in/on glass cases. She passed up bows and arrows, swords, pots and pottery, paintings, books, armor, and other little trinkets and accessories.

_'Interesting, but not worth buying.'_ she thought to herself as she turned around to leave, but just as she began to walk that same miko, energy started up again.

Slowly turning around she saw the source of the energy. It was a book, surrounded by blue miko energy.

_'Hello, what's this?_' she thought as she drew nearer to the book.

The book was brown with wrinkled yellow pages. On the cover there were no words, just a carving of a bow and a scabbard of arrows inside of three enter joined triangles. Touching the cover, she jumped back as blue energy rolled up her arm.

"Is there something I could do for you miss?" a wheezy voice asked sounding as old as the merchandise looked.

Turning around she saw that an old wrinkly lady had appeared behind the counter a huge smile plastered onto her old wrinkly face.

"Uh-yes. How much do you want for this book?" Kagome asked pointing to it.

"Hmm, bring it to me. And let me see it." The old lady said in a wheezy voice.

Turning back towards the book Kagome nervously tapped to see if it would shock her again. Seeing that nothing happened she grabbed it and handed it to the old lady.

Holding the book in her hand the old woman began to examine it. "Mmmm hmmmm. Eh hmmm. Uh huh." She mumbled to herself as she looked from the book to Kagome then back to the book. "It's yours," she finally croaked in her raspy voice.

"Huh. Really?" Kagome asked bewilderedly.

"Yeah sure, and while I remember. Complimentary candles of all colors, inscents, chalk, and magic dust. The old woman said shoving the book and an old chest full of things she got from under the counter into Kagome's arms.

"Oh...uh...thanks." Kagome said as she turned to leave. "Hey, can I get one of these free too?" she asked stopping by a wall of Katanas, scythes, and pointy things of the sort.

"No they're ten dollars and up each." The old woman said her big smile again stretching out across her face.

* * *

_'Well this is interesting.'_ Kagome thought as she continued on her way her nose buried in the book. She had left the shop with a lighter wallet than when she entered. She had bought herself a katana and a few other weapons and items.

The book, which had lured her into the store in the first place, was a book about miko powers. It was a book with different spells, potions, and ideas on what a miko can do with her powers besides purifying.

Kagome had been so engrossed in her book that she didn't see where she was going, and wondered straight into a gang of demons.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here boys." A tough looking demon spoke up, obviously the leader.

"It looks to me like a little human lost her way."

But Kagome was too engrossed in her book to pay them any mind, until they started to bother her.

"Oi Wench we're talking to you!" The leader yelled at her, as she passed by, and one of his gooneys grabbed her book.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked angrily as she realized she was standing in the midst of five hoodlum demons.

"Aww we just want to play." One of them said in a childish sounding voice.

"Yeah, and maybe if you play nicely no one will get hurt." Another said, as they began to crowd her, some pulling out knives or extending their claws.

"Oh really!" she said happily clapping her hands. "Are we going to play tag?"

"Uhhh...sure...whatever." the leader demon said uncertainly about the girl's mental help.

"Great! Let me start! **_TAG_**! You're it." She yelled as she hit the closest demon in the head, sending him crashing into the pavement.

The others stopped in their tracks to look from their fallen comrade, to the seemingly normal human girl.

"Uh-oh, I don't think he wants to play anymore." Kagome said, all cheerful gone from her voice as she looked at them threateningly.

Looking from their comrade, to Kagome, and then back at each other once more, they all charged at her.

Getting into a crouched position, Kagome jumped over the demon in front of her. Grabbing the back of his collar, she tossed him over her head and slammed him into the ground, but kept a firm grip on his collar. Kicking her foot out behind her, she hit the approaching demon in the stomach, and then slammed the one in her hand onto of him.

The remaining standing demons all surrounded her. Smirking at all of them, she began to get cocky, and paid for it when a sharp pain made its presence known on her thigh. Looking at it, her jaw dropped in shock. One of the demons had slashed it open.

Hearing laughter, she looked up and saw that the demons were laughing at her.

"What's the matter stupid girl, did you get a boo boo?" the leader laughed as they all began to crowd.

The demons laughed even harder when they saw her put her head down, hiding her eyes with her bangs, thinking that she had given up.

"What's that little girl? I didn't quite hear that." One of the demon goons laughed, after hearing her mumble something.

"I said...never...call...me...**_STUPID_**!" she yelled as her miko powers flared up, whipping her hair around herself wildly. Raising her head up, the demons, who were already scared shitless, became even more terrified as they saw that her eyes were glowing and her powers were leaking out the corner of them and floating upwards.

"HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP US!" was the last thing the demon's said before Kagome's fury was unleashed.

* * *

Hiei was the first to arrive at the scene, only to find no traces of demons anywhere, and Kagome sitting down on the ground leaning against the fence, unconscious and with a bloody leg.

Going over to the unconscious girl, he was satisfied to hear her steady breathing. Squatting down beside her, he moved her skirt out of the way so he could examine her wound. Then it happened. As soon as his fingers touched the skin of her thigh, Kagome's eyes snapped open and locked them with Hiei's.

_**SMACK!** _

Went the sound of Kagome's hand on Hiei's face, as she slapped the taste out of his mouth.

"A girl can't rest her eyes for 10 minutes without having a guy trying to look up her skirt!" Kagome fumed as she abruptly stood up and stomped away, but not without blushing.

Hiei, who had not moved from his crouched position and had been steadily staring off into space with wide eyes, slowly brought his hand up to feel his stinging cheek.

"You slapped me." He said quietly in disbelief.

"Serves you right for looking up my skirt," she scolded as she healed her cut with her miko powers, and wiped away the blood.

"I was not looking up your skirt girl! I was checking your wound!" Hiei growled out angrily as he stood up.

"Now I remember why I don't drink, it kills brain cells. Why did I even wear this?" Kagome said to herself ignoring Hiei.

"Did you hear me woman?" Hiei yelled again, angry that he was being ignored.

"I heard you, alright. Get over yourself firecracker." She said annoyed, as she seemingly pulled on another outfit from behind her back.

She was now wearing a baby blue tube top that reached the top of her belly button. With the words, _"I'm an angel" _on the front and the words _"but beware!"_ on the back, and a pair of baby blue, low rise knee length, pants. **(This stylish outfit was brought to you by Anime-lavuh. But do not fret for the game continues. Send in those ideas.)**

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Yuske yelled as he and everyone else arrived at the scene, only to find Kagome in a different outfit and Hiei glaring angrily at her.

"What was that weird energy?" Kuabawra asked them.

"Oh that was just my miko powers; I had a little run in with some punks, thinking they could bully me around." Kagome explained as she walked over to her discarded book as she braided her hair.

Looking over at Hiei, Kurama gave him a questioning look, as he saw him staring intently at Kagome as she bent over to pick up her book, with more than just anger. Hiei, feeling eyes on him, glanced up and saw Kurama smirking at him. Putting on a scowl, Hiei looked off to the side.

"Are we close yet, Miko?" he scowled at her.

"MY NAME IS KAGOME YOU EVIL SANTA'S ELF FROM HELL! _Yeah I said it!_ K-A-G-O-M-E! KAGOME, OKAY, GET IT STRAIGHT!"

"_Kagome_, are we close?" Kurama asked politely as he put a restraining hand on Hiei's shoulder and Yuske and Kuabawra laughed in the background.

"Why yes Kurama, we are close, maybe about an hour or so away." She said in a pleasant voice giving him a winning smile.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Hn." Hiei said angrily.

"I don't know what you're angry about, not my fault you can't muster up any manners like fox boy, you annoying midget!"

Kurama, who had been slightly frowning at his nickname, quickly through out a distraction. "Kagome, why don't you go ahead and lead Yuske and Kuabawra to our destination, we'll catch up."

"Ok, but you need to put a leash on the firecracker before he blow up and hurt himself."

Hiei was about to respond, but Kagome had all readily left, clutching onto Yuske's arm as she drug him and Kuabawra along.

Once they were out of sight Kurama turned to Hiei and smirked as he saw him glaring hatefully at the spot the trio had last been seen.

"Don't worry Hiei, Yuske already has Keiko." Kurama told him silently as he went to catch up with the others.

It didn't take long for what Kurama said to sink in. "don't make me kill you fox; I have no infatuation with that girl what so ever." Hiei growled as he also began to walk.

"I didn't say you did, I only said Yuske already has Keiko." Kurama said with smirk.

* * *

In an hour or so, the day had gone and the moon and stars began to make their appearance known. Kagome stopped in front of a large building with loud music coming from it.

"What are we doing here?" Kuabawra asked Kagome as he and the others kept wary eyes on the line of demons outside the building.

"Your relic's in there boys." She said as she pointed to the club.

"You mean we have to stand in line?" Yuske yelled angrily.

"No, I have an invitation." She said as she pulled out another outfit on. This time she was wearing a pair of really baggy black pants with detachable chains looping around them, a black T-shirt with a white bunny on it laughing with the quote _"it's funny u think I'm listening_" under it. A black knee high 2.5 inch platform combat boots with red & purple flames on the bottom, flames starting out purple and fading into red, a long, almost dragging the ground, black trench coat with red stitching. Her hair, with was down, had dark purple and red streaks running through it. **(This Stylish suit was brought to you ****by Fire Kitsune Goddess. Send in those ideas for the game continues.)**

"How do you keep doing that?" Yuske asked loudly.

"An invention of mine. Now come on boys keep close, we don't want to leave anyone outside." Kagome said, not looking at them, as she began to head for the door at the head of the line, but was stopped by a big brutish arm.

Feigning annoyance, Kagome looked into the face of the owner of the arm. What she saw was a big monkey looking demon in a much too small tux.

"Yes?" she asked in an irritated voice.

"Where do you think you're going human?" the brute asked in a deep throaty voice.

"Inside." She said obviously.

"No one gets in unless their on the list, and you're not on it." The brute said getting into her face, and making the spirit detectives edgy.

Putting her hands on her hips, she got into the brute's face herself. "Listen here buddy. I'm on the list. Check for a Kagome Higurashi and guests."

Although sneering the brute did as she said, and looked at the clipboard in his hand. "You're not on here girly." The brute said as he finished. 

"Oh I believe I am." She said confidently as she shoved the wanted poster she had picked up under his monkey like nose and pointed towards the Spirit Detectives, who were unsure of what to take of the situation.

"Oh pardon me Ms. Higurashi, I seem to have skipped over you name by accident. Enjoy yourself." The brute sneered as he opened the door for her and the Spirit Detectives.

"That's okay; just don't let it happen again." she told him before they entered.

* * *

"That was absolutely brilliant Kagome." Kurama complimented as they all gave thanks and Hiei hned.

"Yes, yes, I'm a genius. But you boys better go on, do your job, and find that relic so I can go to sleep."

"What do you mean by that?" Kuabawra asked for them all.

"Oh, I hope you didn't think I was going to help _retrieve_ the relics. On no, Koenma only asked me to locate, not retrieve. You're all on your own with that little situation." Kagome told them before heading out to the dance floor, where a crowd had accumulated around it.

"Hey come back here!" Yuske yelled after her, but she either ignored him or didn't hear him over the loud music.

"Come on Yuske, she's not going to help." Kurama sighed as they all split up.

* * *

_'What's going on here?'_ Kagome thought as she shoved her way to the front of the crowd.

"Oh Wow!" she said aloud as she saw that the crowd had formed around one breaking dancing demon, and he wasn't bad at it

_'Oh he's a cutie too!'_ she thought when the dancing demon had stood up straight and faced her way.

She began to rock a little too the music and was so engrossed in it that she didn't notice, until he was upon her, that the dancing demon had spotted her.

He stood towering over her giving her a fangy grin. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her onto the dance floor with him.

Letting her go he began to circle her doing a move, a cross between the robot and the snake. As he did this, she found herself rolling the top half of her body counter-clockwise while her hips rolled clockwise.

Coming to a spinning stop in front of her, the DD (Dancing Demon) spread his arms out on either side of her and began to roll his stomach while gradually lowering himself down. When he straightened back up she put her hands out in front of her, palms out, and pushed them out and brought back in repeatedly as she began to pop her back out at a steady speed while also lowering down to the floor. Before she could get up herself, the DD grabbed her hands and hauled her up so fast her feet left the floor, and making her straddle his font. With her arms around his neck and his on her back, the DD began to spin around to the music, her trench coat fanning out around them both.

When they began to slow down, Kagome leapt off and spun away, but was stopped when the DD grabbed her hand. Looking back, she smiled seductively at him before spinning into his embrace, her back against his chest. Without missing a beat, they began to lean back, while rocking their shoulders from side to side. When they leant back as far as they could, she snapped her teeth at him, and began to lean forward in the same fashion.

Standing up straight again, the two stood still as they tried to catch their breath. Then the music changed tempo into something even faster than what they had been dancing to. Dropping down low, Kagome stuck her butt out into the DD and came up slowly, where she and the DD began to roll into each other. The DD leant to the left, so she leant to the right, then they'll switch sides, but they never stopped rolling into each other.

The DD suddenly drop down and slid between her open legs, knees first. After he stood up, Kagome took running start before she slid through his legs on her side, where soon after the DD grabbed her from the floor and hauled her into the air again, onto him, but this time only one leg straddle him, and she was towering over him. This was the position they were in when the music finally ended and applause broke out everywhere.

Breaking apart to either side of the dance floor, they grabbed each other hand in the air and began to bow. After exchanging numbers, the two departed. **(I can't help myself, I love dance scenes. I believe there is one or going to one in every fic, I'm writing. So watch out now.)**

In the midst of the crowd, someone grabbed Kagome's hand and pulled over to the bar. Thinking it was one of the Spirit Detectives, Kagome let herself be pulled.

"Kagome, it's so good to see you again! Dog turd said you were dead!" The person who grabbed said as he hugged the life out of her.

Pushing the person away Kagome squealed in delight as she saw the unfamiliar face of Kouga. He wore black jeans, with a black muscle shirt, and adorned by a brown leather jacket. His hair was the same, only the ponytail had been lowered, and he had small mustache and goatee.

"Kouga!" Kagome said happily, as she hugged him back, and trying to keep tears from her eyes. "Oh my God! I can't believe you're still alive!"

"You can't believe I'm, still alive? Last, I knew you were human. Kagome it's been 500 years, and you don't look any older. How did you do it?"

"Um, you see I'm, um..." she stuttered trying to come up with an answer.

"Oh it doesn't matter! You finally came back to me, now we can finally become mates and be together forever." Kouga said happily pulling her into a one-sided kiss. She was too busy being stunned.

_'500 years and this guy still hasn't given up. Maybe I should consider, he obviously wouldn't object. Inuyasha isn't around, I'm single, and Kouga is a cutie. A desperate, obsessed, stubborn, hard ass, but still a cutie.'_ Kagome contemplated in her head as Kouga kissed her. _'What the hell, let's give it a try.' _

"Kouga I..." she began.

"KOUGA!" a shrill voice shrieked angrily.

Pushing away from him, Kagome saw that Kouga's eyes had widened and he had turned as pale as a ghost.

"KOUGA, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" the shrill voice asked as female wolf demon waltzed up to them. She was wearing a bathrobe and slippers, and she wore curlers in her hair and green face cream on her face.

"Who is this Kouga?" Kagome asked angrily.

"This...this is...um...my umm...I don't know. Who are you woman, begone!"

"Oh you don't know who I am huh? Well let's see if you can remember when I get you home." The she wolf snarled as she grabbed the back of Kouga's jacket and began to drag him away.

"RELEASE ME WENCH! BEGONE! LEAVE ME BE! DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU! I WANT A DIVORCE!" was the sounds of Kouga's yells as he was hauled away, leaving Kagome all on her own at the bar.

"Well that sucks!" she said in a huff as she plopped down on a barstool.

"Can I get you something miss?" the bartender asked.

The vision of dancing around to 80's music on the dining room table with a lampshade on her head, popped through Kagome's mind. "No thanks." She declined.

When the bartender left to deal with another customer, Kagome put her head down on the counter. _'Why do I keep finding the jerky boys? Hojo wasn't a jerk, but he was thickheaded, and too eager to please. Inuyasha was a dirty, two timing bastard, who prefers a dead clay pot than me. And now this with Kouga. What's wrong with me? Why can't I find the perfect guy for me? No. I shouldn't find the guy. The guy should find me. Yes, that's it. The perfect guy for me should come up to me and say...' _

"Wench, come with me."

SMACK!

"Twice." Hiei said in a quiet angry voice. "Twice you've slapped me in the same day."

"I'm sorry, that time was an accident." She apologized. "So, uh...what can I do you for?"

"We've found the relic, but there's something guarding it, and we can't get to it. So we need you to get it while we detract the guards.

"Oh, Ok." She said happily, as she jumped off the stool and began to follow him.

* * *

Kagome followed Hiei through countless doors and down a myriad of stairs until they finally reached their final destination.

The basement. Where the other Spirit Detectives were fighting water people.

"Where's the relic?" she asked Hiei, before he entered the battle.

"Over on the far wall." He said before he was attacked by a water person.

With everyone busy fighting, Kagome casually strode over to the wall and looked over the bricks until she found one with a round crevice in the middle with the emblem of water inside of it.

"I don't know why none of them couldn't pull this out, it's not like something's going to bite them." She before pulling out the round brick for water.

Once the relic was removed, the hole in which it had resided shot forth a barrage of water so powerful it hit Kagome and blasted her onto the other side of the room.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Kagome screamed as she flew past the Spirit Detectives and Water people, and with the relic gone from the wall, the water people all dissolved into puddles on the floor.

_'That's why they didn't get it themselves. They knew that was going to happen.'_ Kagome thought angrily as she stood up, looking like a drowned cat.

"Wow, the wet look. It looks good on you." Yuske said as he clapped and laughed at her, and the rest smirked.

"You bastards!" she screeched before launching herself at them, only to be electrocuted by the collar. _''This is not my day.'_ she thought weakly.

* * *

_(From Behind bulletproof glass.)_**Jaguargirl**: I'm so so, sorry for the long wait, it's just I've had this great, Big, HUMONGOUS, writers block on this chapter for the longest, and then there's that thing with my other fic, and my Original masterpiece I've posted on , whew I've been busy. But I will try for all future updates, to be faster.

**Jaguargirl**: anyway, to all my reviewers I thank you so much for your reviews. Please continue to do it, because I love them all dearly. SO R&R and help this review addict out.


	4. Chp 4 Let the Truth Be Told

**Chp. 4 Let the Truth Be Told

* * *

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AN: This chapter is for kogasmate05, who, like me, loves a dance scene. But don't think I'm just going to do scenes for everybody, it just so happens that this particular scene worked well with the story. So enjoy Read and please Review, I'll give you a cookie if you do.

* * *

"SHIT!" Kagome said loudly that night in her room. "Shit, shit, shit!" Kagome swore again as she reread the spell in her book. Sitting on her bed, in boxers and a white t-shirt, Kagome had been attempting to find a spell to remove her collar, but the closest she found was a command of the inanimate object spell, but it went horribly wrong. In her haste to do the spell, she had read half of the commanding spell, and half of another spell. An obedience spell.

"Okay, maybe you didn't mess it up, maybe you did it right...Then why isn't the fucking collar off? No Calm down Kagome, you just cast a commanding obedience charm on yourself, nothing to worry about, unless someone finds out before you can get it off!"

Calming down with this newfound knowledge, Kagome put away the book and pulled out the relic they had just acquired.

The relic was simple, round, heavy, and hard, just plain and simple. Yet, as she held it in her hands, she could feel the powers radiating from it, could feel the power tingling her hands as if waves of water were lapping her. It was so...invigorating.

She hadn't felt anything like this before, only once and that was when she had slapped Hiei. When she slapped him, she could feel a warm tingling in her fingers as her hand touched his face. She found she had actually enjoyed slapping him, although the second time was an accident. It sent a chill of excitement down her spine just remembering it.

Sighing, she put the relic back in its holder and slid it under the bed, before turning off the bedside lamp and getting under the covers to fall asleep.

"I'll be okay as long as know one finds out." Kagome murmured aloud before falling asleep.

* * *

Kagome was the last down for breakfast the next morning. Trying not to let her nervousness show about the curse, dressed in a simple white tee and black hip hugger jeans that flared out slightly, Kagome entered the kitchen to find Hiei glaring hatefully at her.

_'Hateful little firecracker aren't you?'_ she thought telepathically to him.

But the only reply she got was a harder, darker glare.

Rolling her eyes at him, she sat herself down at the table to eat.

_'I hate this collar.'_ She began to think as she munched on some toast, and stared absentmindedly at Hiei. _'I have to get it off somehow. Maybe if I get a pair of scissors I could cut it off. Ooh or maybe I can get a blowtorch and burn it to smithereens. Yeah that's it...burn it up. Oh wait, but I might get burned. Maybe acid. That's it. I'll get some acid and...' _

_'Woman, stop your bumbling! You're thinking too loud!_' Hiei growled telepathically to her. _'And divert your gaze; the sight of your face sickens me.' _

Kagome would have come back with a smart remark, but the collar wouldn't have it. So unwillingly, Kagome stopped thinking and turned her head.

With her head facing in another direction, Kagome missed the quizzical look upon Hiei's face.

"Look at me onna." Hiei demanded aloud, making the rest to look at him and Kagome.

Trying not to make it too obvious that she had to do whatever was commanded of her, Kagome turned to face Hiei with an angry scowl on her face. "Who the hell do you think you are, you evil hobbit? Where do you get off trying to tell me what to...?"

"Silence your tongue onna." Hiei smirked, as Kagome stoppedin the middleof her sentence, a look of a painful death upon her face.

"Hiei, what is going on?" Kurama asked looked from Hiei to Kagome and back to Hiei.

"Uhh...I have to go to the bathroom." Kagome said hastily as she began to run up the stairs.

"Come back here." Hiei demanded just as she reached the stairs.

"I DIDN'T HEAR THAT, I DIDN'T HEAR THAT, I DIDN'T HEAR THAT!" Kagome chanted loudly, eyes screwed shut, and hands over her ears, never realizing that she was now running backwards. But when she felt herself stop, she stopped her chanting and slowly opened her eyes, only to find herself standing beside Kurama. "Damn." she said in defeat her arms dropping to her sides.

"Have a seat." Hiei told her as he pulled out a chair for her. "And stay there." he put in as an afterthought.

"Whoa shorty, what did you do to her?" Kuabawra asked loudly as he, Yuske, and Kurama came to stand around the two.

"Wow Hiei, you've tamed the beast." Yuske said teasingly pinching a very angry Kagome on the cheek.

"Again, I must ask: What is going on?" Kurama asked again.

"Why don't you ask the girl?" Hiei suggested.

"Very well then. Kagome, what is going on?" Kurama asked her, getting tired of asking the same question repeatedly.

"You're all signing your death certificate, that's what!" she yelled angrily. "Now let me up!"

"But no ones holding you down, what's stopping you from leaving now?" Kurama inquired.

Kagome was silent, and she held her head down.

"Now onna, why don't you tell us what is going on?" Hiei asked, for even he wasn't sure why this was happening.

"And why don't you call me by my birth given name?" she spat at him angrily.

"I asked you a question!" He growled, confused as to why she wasn't obeying anymore.

"And I asked you one!" Kagome yelled her miko flaring up.

"Calm down Kagome." Kurama told her nervously, edging away as her miko got higher.

Obeying, all Kagome's anger vanished and her miko and breathing became low and even.

Now Hiei seemed to realize what was going on. Along with the others in the room. "Onna, why do you obey when you wish not to?"

"Obey? Who says I'm obeying you? Who's not to say I leading you into a trap of safe security, where I can make you all my personnel slaves?"

"Tell the truth."

"I was messing with this stupid collar yesterday and now I must obey everything someone tells me." Kagome told them without hesitation.

"Really?" Yuske said with a look of concentration. "Tell me. Why do you act so...psychotic?" he demanded, waiting to hear anything then what she said.

"It's my way of dealing," she said quietly hanging her head and wishing that he had asked anything but that. For that simple question could lead up to many a secrets, she would rather keep buried.

"Dealing with what?" Kuabawra asked confusedly.

"Dealing with my pain," she whispered quietly that they barely heard what she said, all except Kuabawra.

"With what?" he asked speaking louder.

"IT'S MY WAY OF DEALING WITH THE PAIN OF BETRAYAL AND HEARTBREAK!" she yelled never looking up, her bangs covering her face in shadow.

The others didn't need to see her face to know that it was covered with traces of an old pain that still hurt. They wanted to know more about her past to further trust her, but not at the cost of tears, and they were about to back off, but her tears did not affect Hiei.

"Tell us about it. Tell us everything," he told her without sympathy, ignoring the looks his teammates were giving him.

Kagome had braced herself for this the moment they figured out her curse, and had fully suspected Hiei to be the one to do it. "It all started three years ago when I was fifteen..." she told them, surprising them with how steady her voice was, although they suspected her shrouded face streaming with silent tears. She told them everything, and not just because Hiei demanded it of her (although that was a major part of it), but because once she started she couldn't stop, and the more she told the lighter she felt, for her tale was finally being lifted from her shoulders. And it felt good.

**

* * *

**

"...and I've hadn't been back yet. The only good I could say that has come from that, is my training I have done to become stronger, for when I do return, I want need a treacherous hanyou to protect me." she finished quietly, her head still down and cloaked.

With her tale said and done the others stood in silence as it sunk in.

"Okay, if you don't mind, I'll like to go to my room." Kagome said as she looked up at them, a grim smile on her face, but what shocked them was the lack of tears or redness on her face. She hadn't even started to cry.

"Oh...yes...you can go." Kurama stammered.

"Thank you." She thanked him before getting up and walking up the stairs.

Hiei felt certain anger towards the hanyou for what he had done. He couldn't understand why someone would prefer a clay corpse over the beautiful flesh of a live woman like Kagome. He just couldn't understand it, but what he did understand was why his respect for the girl had raised a tremendous amount as he saw how she didn't breakdown like any other ningen (sp?) women would have.

Coming out of his thoughts, Hiei looked around to find the heated glares of his teammates bearing down on him.

"Hn." he growled, before turning his back on them and walking out the door.

* * *

On entering her room, Kagome quickly shut her door and lay down on her bed with her eyes closed._ 'I feel as if a truck has been lifted off my back. I don't know whether to be mad at those guys for making me spill, or to be gracious.' _

"It'd work better to be gracious. You shouldn't keep things like that bottled up. It could just get you killed." A voice said from within her room.

"Didn't you see the sign? No homicidal midgets allowed." Kagome said lazily opening her eyes to stare at the Fire demon sitting on her bed.

"I misjudged you girl." Hiei said, ignoring her first comment.

"Most people do.," she said closing her eyes again.

"Why didn't you cry?"

"Because I told myself long ago, that I wouldn't let him make me cry anymore."

"Will you ever go back?"

"Of course, it's my duty to complete my mission."

He was pleased to hear this.

"Will you kill the hanyou and your incarnate if you see them?"

She was silent for a moment.

"I don't know."

"Do you still love the hanyou?"

She didn't answer.

"Do you?"

"Why do you care?" she snapped sitting up to glare at him, but he was already gone.

A ringing brought her attention away from her searching for Hiei to her cell phone.

"Hello?" she asked speaking into the phone.

"Oh, Hi Dee, (the Dancing Demon, name is Dee) what's going on...?"

"...Are you sure...I'll love to..."

"...What's the dress code...?"

"Oh...you might need to pick me up; I don't have a car..."

"...how about I meet at the club we met in..."

"...okay, about what time I need to be there..."

"...okay, great, see you later."

Hanging up the phone, Kagome wide grin soon turned into an agitated frown. "How the hell am I supposed to get away from those spirit detectives?"

"Damn! I hope you have some answers in you." Kagome cursed, grabbing her book and searching through it frantically.

* * *

Later that afternoon, while everyone was in the living room watching TV. Kagome stealthily descended the stairs and crouched behind the couch.

Clutching a big pool ball sized marble she rolled it out into the opening in front of the Spirit Detectives, who spied it instantly.

"God Damn it! Another one." Was the only sound Yuske made before the marble took effect and they were all unconscious.

Sighing Kagome stood to see all four of them deep under her spell. "So they knew about my marbles. No doubt, Hiei told them. Oh well, no time to dawdle, get to work Kagome." she said to herself bringing out a black hair scrungie with little silver charms surrounding it, and an inscent.

Kurama, Yuske, and Kuabawra all sat on the together on the couch and Hiei sat by himself across from them in a Lazy-boy. Looking over her victims and giving them all scrutinizing glances she finally stopped in front of Kuabawra. "Since this collar is intoned to your spirit energy, I guess I'll have to take a little with me, won't I? Now, this won't hurt one bit, big boy."

Placing the scrungie over her wrist, she lit the inscent and began to circle it around his head while chanting a spell. Soon her efforts were rewarded as Kuabawra's spirit energy began to rise from his body.

Still chanting she place the scrungie into the energy and watched satisfied as it absorbed it. Stopping her chanting, Kagome allowed the remaining energy return to his body. She needed his energy; she didn't need to kill him.

"Well that was easier than I thought." she said aloud jingling the scrungie before placing it into her hair. "Now, what to do, what to do?" she asked herself looking around at the unconscious body, as thoughts of being pelted with water followed by being electrocuted flashed through her mind.

As an idea flashed through her head, she smiled evilly.

* * *

"Now Kurama, don't you look pretty." Kagome laughed evilly as she finished applying make up onto Kurama's beautiful face.

Before issuing her revenge, Kagome had gone upstairs and changed into her clothing for the evening. She was wearing a red sleeveless shirt, with a low cut collar, but which covered all-important things. A pair of black stretch pants that were firm fitting at the waist but baggy at the bottom, and a black and red leather jacket that stopped just above where her belly button would be. And in her hair was a black scrungie with silver charms. **(Sorry to those who submitted outfits, but this one was brought on by a nagging classmate who wants to be a designer.)**

Standing up, she stood back to marvel at her handiwork. Kurama, who had already been a very handsome man, was now a very beautiful woman, wearing a pink frilly dress over his original clothing. She had put on lipstick and place kisses all over Yuske's face, smudged lipsticks on Kuabawra's lips, and placed their arms around each other. Causing for a very awkward moment between the two when they awoke, and to top it off she had a camera and had taken pictures.

Finally, she turned towards Hiei; she had nothing special planned for him except a big, black, magic marker of doom. Coming over to him, she sat on his lap and began the torture. She started out with drawing big dark circles over his eyes and connected them with a line to make it look like a pair of glasses. Next, she drew a mustache and a few doodles, nothing special, but then it was time to put her signatures. So all over his face, in the places not yet touched by her drawings, she wrote little sayings like: 'I think Kagome's hot'...'I pissed Kagome off and all I got were these stupid drawings'...'I'm a pigheaded firecracker'...'I like cheese'...'candy is dandy'...and...'Kagome was here'.

Putting the magic marker up, she began to stretch and pull at his face like he was a piece of elastic. "Wow, you are so warm," she said aloud as her hands lingered on his cheeks. "This feels better than when I slapped you. Ooh! This is nice," she said rubbing her cheek against his face. "I wonder..." she trailed off dropping his hand, which had somehow came into her possession, and stuck her hand into his poncho. "I knew it, he's warm everywhere. He's like a heater. A walking heater, with a bad attitude, and a fat head."

Stepping back, she looked him over. "He needs something. Aha, that's it." Reaching into her pocket she pulled out two rubber bands and place Hiei's gravity defying hair into to ponytails on each side of his head. Finally done and satisfied she stepped back and took a picture.

"Oh look at the time, I have to get going." she exclaimed after looking at her watch, and with one last picture of herself in the midst of the havoc she made, she left, not once realizing that a third eye on a certain fire demon was rapidly moving beneath his white bandanna.

* * *

It had turned out that Dee the DD's dancing partner had a horrible accident with a passing truck driven be her ex-boyfriend and was unable to dance with DD at a dance competition being held that day. So as a last result DD called Kagome to fill in.

She didn't have to wait long for DD to arrive. She had just arrived at the club, when he pulled up in a black Lamborghini convertible. He was dressed in white baggy stretch pants, black shirt, white and black striped jacket, with a white tam worn backwards on his short black hair.

"Wow! Did you get this by dancing in competitions?" she asked admiringly as she hopped into the passenger's side.

"No, I got this by winning competitions." he laughed before they zoomed off into the night.

* * *

They made it to the dance competition early so they could practice some moves. On arrival, they signed up and were escorted to an area where the competitors were located. It turned out that it wouldn't be just her and DD to dance, but that he had a _crew_...his back up dancers mainly. They didn't seem to upset that their main female dancer was replaced by a human girl; it would seem that they all had been at the club when she and DD were dancing the other night, so they had confidence in her. After the introductions were made, they practiced a little then began to mingle.

Kagome walked around the club and idly watched the other teams practice.

"Not bad...they could use a little work...wow they are awesome...I could do that...that looks hard...my god they're practically having sex...those guys suck..." were the main thought that went through Kagome's head as she lingered from group to group.

Stopping to watch a particular good group Kagome suddenly felt a chill. A chill so cold it seemed to froze her soul. Jerking her head up, she looked around the club with a suspicious cautious eye.

"Hey, Kagome?"

Spinning around Kagome hand instantly went behind her back as she glared at the offender who had tapped her on the shoulder.

"Whoa, calm down...I just came to tell you we're up next." he, explained, jumping back.

It had only been DD. Relaxing; she looked at him with a scolding look, before bursting into laughter.

"Don't sneak up on me like that; I have few enemies who wouldn't hesitate to strike while I'm not looking."

DD was silent for a moment as he looked at her. "...Whatever, I'm not even going to ask, but come one we're up next." he said hastily grabbing her hand and dragging her through the club.

"Are you with group 17?" a young demoness asked with a clipboard in her hand.

"Yeah." DD answered.

"Then hurry and get ready, you're up next." she said before rushing off.

"Well you heard the lady, let's get ready." DD yelled dragging Kagome over to the rest of the group.

* * *

Standing amidst the crowd of demons staring at them, Kagome, DD, and the others stood stock-still waiting for the music to start. The contest was set in parts, first the elimination round, where the teams would all dance individually in the ring. In the elimination round all bad teams were cut off then. The next part was where the competition really started. The second round was couple dancing only. Two lead dancers from different teams would then compete against each other in the ring as the team watched from the side. The next and final round was solo only. First, the two lead male dancers danced off against one another, then the girls against each other. From this round, the winners were decided.

"Now up, group 17!" the announcer yelled over the noise of the crowd. "Group 17, are you ready?"

Beside her DD shook his head yeah. The beat started up.

They started with jerking their body to the beat in a sort of pulsating move. With the last beat before the music started to speed up, all the girls dropped down, laid down on their backs, put their feet in the air, and did a split just as the boys took a flying tumble leap through the open space, before spring to their feet and doing the shake.

Walking up behind the boys, Kagome and the other girls seemingly grabbed their partners and tossed them out the way as they took the spot light. With their hands on the knees, the girls crouched down and straightened up with their top halves going to the left, then crouched again only coming up with their top halves pointing towards the right. They did this twice, before shooting up onto their tiptoes, turning to the side with their hands in the air, and shook their hips to the side before the flats of their feet hit the ground.

Sticking their right legs out at a 30-degree angle, they hunched their shoulder up and down as they hopped in a circle on their right legs. Finishing with that they threw their hands into the air, hiked their left legs up to their chests, and arched their backs making a birdcall. Then bending their still suspended leg they got into sitting positions, put a hand to their chin and pushed their heads to the side then back, before plopping onto the ground, just as the guys began to flip, hop, and cartwheel in front of them.

Kicking their legs up at the girls, the boys spun in a circle, hit the floor with one arm and jutted their legs out the stood up straight. Putting both hands on the ground and did a one handed handstand. Some with their free hands grabbing themselves, others with their free hand in the air meeting their foots. Suddenly, the other boys flipped over the hand standers and landed on their feet. Where they immediately went into a split, then reaching back with a hand, they grabbed their own collars and seemingly pulled themselves back up. Now all the guys danced in sequence together. Placing an elbow into their hands, they began to crip walking while switching from elbow to hand-to-hand to elbow. Then dropping to the ground and spring back up they started doing what could only be described as the manly tootsie roll. Then looking from side to side they all jumped towards the ground and landed on their hands, their faces mere centimeters from the ground and their feet barely off the ground. This made the crowd go wild.

The girls, not wanting to be shown up, now stole the spotlight again. While rolling their bodies in the only way girls can, they began to clap their hands to the beat of the music. Ceasing their clapping they turned to the sides, but kept their eyes glued to their partners, and stuck their arms out and began to pop and shake their bodies at a fast rate, that, yet again, only a girl could do. Turning back to the front, they put their arms out in front of them, crossed them, and began to fold and open them, slapping their arms, as their knees would meet and part while their bodies leant form side to side. Then placing one hand on their knees they began to swing the other arm out in a circle while arching their back, and swing their heads from the front to the side. Straightening back up the girls began to roll their bodies again while now turning in a circle and when they face the front again they rolled their shoulders and hips in opposite directions while spinning each arm slowly one at a time. Then turning to the side they bent over, put their hands on top of each other, and then threw hem in the air just as they dipped their bodies to the ground. Slamming their hands on the ground, they began to roll their bodies, in the sort of way a belly dancer would, as they slowly stood up. gently hitting themselves in the chest, they shoves their hands at the boy in a 'get back' gesture as they turned their backs on them, put their hands on their knees, and began to pop their booties at them. Then standing up, they did power kicks, by bringing their legs up to their chest and kicked out furiously, then turned to the boys again, put their hands on their hips, and gave the boys the hand just as they turned their heads away. The crowd went wild.

Suddenly the music did a sudden abrupt turn. Instead of the fast tempo they had been dancing too, it was now a steady reggae beat. Kagome had been warned about this so she just went along with it. So when a pair of arms appeared over her shoulders and stuck out in front of her she didn't attack, just only looked back into the smiling face of DD, as they began to dance together. Looking around she saw that everyone else had also gotten partnered up. So when DD began to roll his body, she did the same, and soon the two were like one. Turning around they separated for a bit and just danced in front of each other, with one of her hands on her hip and the other on his shoulder, while both of his were on her hips. Then the gap was closed and they were sandwiched against each other. Both her arms were now around his neck, and his were supposed to around her waist and on her hip but she felt them creeping low. Looking into his face, she grinned up at him.

"Now just because you're cute and we're dancing together doesn't mean I won't hurt you. But if you're a good boy, maybe would could talk about it later." He just grinned showing off his fangs, but his hands didn't wander anymore, not much. _'You are so lucky you're cute.'_ she thought in her head as the song ended.

"And that was group 17! Now up next...GROUP 16!" the announcer yelled over the cheers as Kagome, DD, and the rest left the floor.

"That was great Kagome...you did good...that was great!" were some of the compliments she got from the team.

Kagome was suddenly lifted into the air as someone hugged the breath out of her lungs. "Oh that was awesome Kagome!" DD yelled giving her deep kiss on the lips. Kagome was shortly stunned by this.

"Hey to celebrate, how bout I buy you a drink at the bar?" he offered. Kagome was about to accept when a flashback of herself crying over a flower she killed while drunk outside flashed through her head.

"No thanks, how about something to eat instead?" she asked, once remembering that her breakfast had been ruined because of the Spirit Detectives.

"Alright." he said with a smile, escorting her out the building.

* * *

Kagome and DD arrived back to the club laughing and full, but just as they walked through the door, they were bombarded by their teammates.

"What have you two been doing?" one of the male dancers asked loudly as they drug the two back to their designated spot.

"I took Kagome out for something to eat, why, what's wrong?" DD asked his arm around Kagome's waist.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You're up next and we couldn't find you two, that's what's wrong!" One of the girls yelled.

"You're up next? So that means...we...we made it?"

"Duh stupid." The same guy dancer said hitting DD in the head with a huge fangy grin.

"Alright! Yeah! We made it!" DD yelled happily jumping onto the guy dancer and hooting loudly, before jumping off the guy and giving Kagome a bone-crushing hug before giving her another kiss. _'I could get use to this.'_ she thought in her head as she got kissed.

"Ooooohhhh!" the teams yelled childishly at the two.

"Oh, grow up!" DD scolded but a smile evident on his face.

"Group 17's couple and Group 14's couple to the stage now! You have 1 minute before disqualification!"

"Come on let's go!" Kagome yelled as they all ran to the ring.

"Yeah let's win this!" DD yelled.

* * *

On entering the ring they noticed that Group 14's couple was already there and doing warm up. Kagome's eyes were instantly drawn to the two dancers. The girl had long orange-red hair put into two ponytails and held together with pink ribbons. She wore a tight, black turtleneck tank top with no sleeves and a cut out hole in the shape of a diamond around her chest that stopped just below her breast. Her pinkish red shorts were extremely short and low rise. On her feet, she wore black ankle boots.

Glancing around, she saw most of the male population with their eyes on her, including DD. She suddenly didn't like this girl.

Huffing she turned towards the girl's partner and had to do a double take. There was only one word to describe the guy. Delicious. Okay maybe not delicious, but he was drop dead sexy gorgeous. He was about 6ft tall, with black scraggly hair covering half his face. His eyes were black as coal and his hair was an inky ebony black. He wore a black jacket, black pants and belt, and black shoes. He didn't wear a shirt so his chiseled body was out for all too see.

As if feeling her eyes traveling his body, the guy looked up and smiled a very sexy grin, as he ran a hand through his hair, moving it out of his face so she could get a better look. Winking, he made a kiss face at her, causing her to blush. About to return the favor Kagome suddenly felt someone grab her arm and drag her away to the other side of the ring.

Looking up, she began to blush from embarrassment as she saw it was DD who had her and he didn't look pleased.

She laughed nervously. Looking back at the Sexy guy, she saw that he was being yelled at by Red.

"Dance now, you can look at guys later." DD growled letting her go as they got into place.

"_You_ were looking at Red over there." she accused. Now it was his turn to blush.

"Okay, so we both looked. Truce?"

"I guess so.," she laughed.

"Okay now, ladies and gentle men! It's time to start dancing! Group 17 won the coin toss so will be going second!" the announcer yelled over the noise signaling the dancers to get ready. "Dancers, on your mark!"

The music started, and it was an upbeat Latin styled song.

Red started out with some ballet looking moves as she made her way over to Sexy guy. Placing her hands on his chest, she began to walk forward on her tiptoes, causing him to move backwards. Moving back a few paces he stopped, grabbed each of her wrist, and spun her around so that her back was to his chest. Smiling, Red, with his hands still attached, spread her arms wide to either side of her and bent over. First she rolled her head, then standing up straight, she wrapped his hands around her lower half, turned her head to smile at him, then began to roll her body, making his do the same with her. Releasing one of her wrist, Sexy guy spun her away from him, where she kicked out high with her foot, bringing her head to the ground as she bent backwards. Jumping and flipping in the air, she landed in poise state, with her hands in the air and an arch in her back, then pun back over to Sexy guy, who put one hand around her waist and grabbed her hand with the other. With one of her legs wrapped around him, Sexy guy leant forward, bending her backwards, and spun on his heal in circle, with her head mere centimeters from the floor, before pulling her back up to him. Looking into each other's eyes for a second they turned towards Kagome and DD. Gripping her wrist, Sexy guy held his hand up in the air as Red twirled around him on her tip toes at a fast rate. Then, gripping her hands extremely tight, Sexy guy slung Red through the air like she was a piece of rope at Kagome and DD, making the two jump back as her feet swung at their heads. As Red came back towards Sexy guy, who still held her hand, he caught her around the waist, dropped to his knee, and bent her backwards over it.

The crowd screamed loudly. Kagome and DD looked at each other; they were good they had to admit. The announcer didn't need to announce for them to get ready, for as soon as the music started, Kagome and DD started their routine. The music was a fast beat R&B style song with plenty of beat.

Facing each other, they smiled. Sticking their right feet out they bobbed their tops halves to the music, then switching feet they bobbed again. Clasping hands, they bobbed and weaved their heads to the opposite side of the other, then without warning, DD dropped to one knee, after Kagome put her foot a top it, DD hastily rose up, sending Kagome into the air, where she twist and turned onto his back. Throwing her fist into the air, Kagome began to pump it up as DD spun around on his feet and knees, alternating between the two as he went. Stopping on his feet, DD reached around, grabbed Kagome by the knees, and swung her off his back, under his arm, and into his arms in the bridal position. Setting her down beside him, DD swung his leg out and in front of hers, and then she did the same. Without missing a beat the two, in a synchronized formation, bent backwards at an impossible angle and in slow motion swung their arms over their front and over their heads, like in the Matrix, and came back up. Interlocking elbows, they got back to back, and locked their other elbows together. Hoisting Kagome off her feet, DD did a sideways flip, ending up with Kagome standing on the floor and him in the air. Not missing a beat Kagome repeated the move, but now they were both standing and Kagome was right in their opponents' faces. Red hissed at her, Sexy smirked, and Kagome just winked as DD flipped her over his back, making Red and Sexy jump away, and causing DD and Kagome to be facing each other. Arms still interlocked, the two separated enough to get their limbs out of their twisted position. Now holding hands, Kagome stepped back a few spaces before launching herself into the air, where DD hauled her over his head. Now doing a handstand over DD's head, the two stood as still as possible as the crowd went while. Looking down at DD, Kagome smiled just as he let one of her hands go. Bringing her free hand up in the air, she grabbed her foot and pulled it down to the back of her head, held it their a few seconds then released it before leaning over to fall towards the ground, where DD caught her under the arms. Hefting her into the air, Kagome leant forward, as if she was about to fall on her face, but instead fell into a tumble roll. Coming out of the tumble, Kagome sprang to her feet, immediately going into a series of back flips, only to land by DD's side. Crouching down, DD cupped his hand for Kagome's foot. Placing her foot into his hand, DD threw her into the air. Spinning around, DD managed to catch Kagome again and place her onto his shoulder.

The crowd was so loud that no sound reached anyone's ears.

Looking at each other, the two smiled. They had this one in the bag.

* * *

Evidently, Group 17 won. And Kagome couldn't have been happier. It was evident in the way she smiled and hummed as she made her way to the back of the club, where the bathrooms were located. This part of the club was empty, for everyone was at the front watching the dancing.

"Hey, you! Girl!" a voice hissed from within the shadows.

"Who me?" she asked innocently.

"Come here, wench!" the voice sounded angry.

"You want me...to come over there...into the shadows...where they are no witnesses. Nooo...I think I'll stay over here, this has slasher movie written all over it." she said, turning on her heal to get away from the voice, but she had forgotten about the curse on her collar, so the next thing she knew was standing in darkness, barely able to see five feet away from her.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Kagome was up against the wall, with her arms being held over her head, a blade on her throat, and a pair of scarlet colored eyes glaring up at her.

"oh, h-hi, Hiei." Kagome stuttered nervously. "You know, in this non-existent light, you look...oubre sexy. I mean, come on now, who could pull that off. You know earlier I was thinking to myself, that Hiei is one super, sexy psychopath. I mean with his hot, vertical challenged body, and that sexy pinecone head, he's one..."

"Enough girl!" he growled pressing the blade harder to her throat. "You are to come with me, now."

"But we haven't even had our first date yet." she joked, making herself blush like a little schoolgirl.

Growling, Hiei let her hands go, and backed off, sheathing his sword. "You're lucky we need you to complete this mission. Now come on." Grabbing her hand, Hiei began to pull her further into the darkness.

"No, wait, Hiei!" she cried, tugging on her arm. "Just let me stay for one more round, then I'll come back I promise."

"Hn." he grunted, ignoring her.

"Oh, please Hiei? I didn't mean to do that to you guys..."

Now Hiei stopped, and turned to look at her. "You didn't mean it? You didn't mean it!" he growled angrily. "If you didn't mean it, then you must have accidentally turned Kurama into a female, accidentally gave the detective and buffoon a reason for electric shock therapy, and accidentally wrote on my face and molest my body while unconscious. You didn't mean to do that?"

"Molest your body." Kagome said with confusion written all over her face, before it turned red from blushing. "Oh!"

_Flashback _

Putting the magic marker up, she began to stretch and pull at his face like he was a piece of elastic. "Wow, you are so warm," she said aloud as her hands lingered on his cheeks. "This feels better than when I slapped you. Ooh! This is nice," she said rubbing her cheek against his face. "I wonder..." she trailed off dropping his hand, which had somehow came into her possession, and stuck her hand into his poncho. "I knew it, he's warm everywhere. He's like a heater. A walking heater, with a bad attitude, and a fat head."

_End Flashback _

"Okay about that." she started.

"Forget it. Now come on," he growled, reaching for her arm again, but she held it out of his reach.

"Wait!" she yelled. "Please Hiei, let me stay until I've finished the last round, and it's coming up next, then I'll come back on my own accord. Please?" she asked giving the best cute yet sad face she could muster, that only worked for girls on hardheaded guys.

"Very well, girl. We will meet you in the wooded area behind the building. Come right after." Hiei grumbled, giving in. because no one can resist the face.

"Oh thank you, thank you Hiei!" she squealed, and before either could realize what she was doing. She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss before bounding off. Missing the blushing, shocked look, upon Hiei's face.

* * *

It was the final round. The solo competition. It turned out that this round was more about appearance than talent. In this round, Props could be used, and so could powers. DD had just finished his part against a fire demon. DD's power had turned out to be manipulation of air.

Now she stood in the middle of the ring, awaiting the female of o group 9. DD had seemed worried when they said that powers were to be used in this round, thinking Kagome just a regular human and all. But he was wrong, for Kagome did have a talent. After all Kikyo was a miko and her powers, was the ability to steal souls and control soul stealers. Tsubaki was a priestess, and she had that snake thing, so why couldn't Kagome have one. As it turned out, Kagome's talent was the creation of illusion. She had used an illusion when she first met the Spirit detectives. She had used the illusion of her just disappearing before their eyes when she had just walked off.

Her attention was brought to the side of the ring. What she saw was a puddle of silver looking water moving on its own accord.

"O-Kay." Kagome said slowly to herself as the puddle came and stopped ahead of her.

The puddle then began to rise and form itself into the shape of a girl. When it was done, in its place stood a girl of about 5"9. She had mid-back length, white hair, streaked with blue, silver gray skin, land light blue aquatic eyes. Her outfit was that of a female genie, only blue.

The girl, Water Girl, looked at Kagome and simply smiled.

"Dancers on your mark!" announcer guy yelled. "Group 9 won the coin toss and have decided to have both ladies dance at the same time. Now ladies, go out there and dance. And please, _please_, put on a good show, maybe flash me something, maybe re-enact of a scene off of Girls Gone Wild. I'm...bored as hell up here. And, Yes, the competition now rests on your shoulders for your two teams are the best, and the outcome of the competition depends on the winner, and you might screw up causing your whole team to hate and most likely maul you in the parking lot, but...have fun...no pressure at all. Bwahahahaha!"

Everyone was silent.

A few minutes later, the announcer came back on. "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, nut Ted the announcer has gone to nappy-nap land. Evidently, someone has given him acid...so...yeah...Dancers start...or something." Another voice said over the intercom.

The music started.

Kagome started by taking the scrungie out of her hair and placing it on her wrist. Slinging her hair around, Kagome made the illusion that it grew as she slung it. She slung her head until the hair was so long it could hide many people within it. Looking over to Water Girl, she saw that she had water falling around her to make it seem as if she was in a storm.

_'Uh, oh!_' Kagome thought.

Water girl had her fist balled up in front of her and was spinning them around each other then would kick out her leg sending water flying.

Thinking quickly she grabbed and handful of hair and threw it in the air. _'Come alive.'_ She willed it. Kagome's hair now began to float straight in the air, seeming as if she was being held upside down. Sticking her arms out to her side, Kagome was satisfied to see that some of her hair had wrapped around them, not hard, just hovering. She then began to do a sort of belly dancer routine, her hair taking the place of the snakes a belly dancer would have. The hair now began to weave in between her legs, around her waist and across her chest, giving her a hairy, yet cool, body suit.

Water Girl, meanwhile had formed a water bubble and was currently swim/dancing inside of it. But after seeing Kagome, she shot out the top of the bubble on a waterspout. Doing some maneuverable moves in the air before landing. Gathering the water around her, she willed them into water people to dance with.

Seeing the attention back to Water Girl, Kagome summoned the hair under her feet to lift her into the air on a hairy pedestal.

Realizing Kagome was in the air; all eyes reverted to her.

Seeing all eyes, back on her Kagome then jumped off the pedestal and began a slow descent to the bottom, doing all types of twists and flips and turns in the air with her hair twirling behind her like ribbon gymnastics.

_'Oh, we can't have this.'_ Water Girl thought, the water people surround her exploding into millions of little specks of water. Before they could fall to the ground the motioned for them to stop, then spinning her hands, while rolling her body, the specks of water began to spin around her in a sort of cyclone that lifted her into the air also. Amidst the cyclone, Water Girl could be seen dancing like a nymph.

The eyes were now back on her.

Not wanting to be shown up, Kagome landed on the grand and incased her body in the hair, creating a giant, **(Can anyone guess?)** hairball. **(If you said a giant shoe, I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. You are the weakest link, goodbye.) **

The crowd was now torn between watching the cyclone, to the giant, floating, hairball. They settled on the hairball. **(Come on people, it's a giant, floating hairball, with a girl inside it. Wouldn't you watch something like that?)**

The hairball began to quiver and shake. It started to expand and little glimpses of light could be seen on the inside. Everyone, including Water Girl stopped to watch.

The hairball quivered once more before exploding. When the hair finally disappeared and vision was returned, everyone could see Kagome in the middle of the ring, with normal length, multicolored hair, and transparent faire wings, dancing.

Kicking her leg into the air, she held it in place for a second before lowering and going into a crouching spin. Once she stopped, she shot up and threw her hands in the air, where she then began to pop her back in and out. Putting her hands out in front of her, she did the running man, before turning around, and kicking her leg up high in the air. Bringing it down she spun around, crouched down then came up slowly rolling her stomach, hips, and shoulders. Then she stopped, and everyone applauded and cheered her, including Water Girl.

But although she was smiling and happy looking, the reason she had was because she felt something she hadn't felt in months.

She felt a tug on her soul.

'_Kikyo_.' she thought angrily.

**(I thought about stopping it here, but what the hell, let's continue.) **

* * *

"Look there she goes!" Kuabawra cried.

The Spirit Detectives had been waiting in the woods for almost an hour waiting on Kagome. They would've gone inside the club, but not with their faces looking like that. So when Kagome came into view they were, how you would, relieved.

"What's wrong with her?" Kurama suddenly asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean what's wrong, she looks fine to me!" Yuske asked loudly.

"Something doesn't feel right." Kuabawra put in with a shiver.

"What doesn't feel right, what's wrong with her?!?"

"She's not smiling." Hiei said.

"I smell death and bones." Kurama put in.

"And there's another Kagome standing behind her with a bow and arrow." Kuabawra finally said.

And so there was, and before the others could yell a warning, the other Kagome had let loose the arrow.

* * *

**Jaguargirl:** What's up ya'll! Guess what I did. I updated! Send out the fireworks! Yeah! Bam! What now! Hooray! Karate! Can't stop the bootyae! (Continues to yell out weird things but is gagged and drug off by Gavin.)

**Jaguargirl:** Hi I'm back, and if you're wondering who the hot sexy guy with the white hair is, that's my muse. Or what I tell my mom so I can keep him. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, I never knew I would get this many.

**Jaguargirl:** And before I go, I must say I am looking for an Author out there who wouldn't mind writing a fic with me. All the information needed is in my BIO. Ciao.


	5. Chp 5 A Woman Scorned

* * *

**Chp.5 A Woman Scorned**

* * *

**LAST TIME**

"Look there she goes!" Kuabawra cried.

The Spirit Detectives had been waiting in the woods for almost an hour waiting on Kagome. They would've gone inside the club, but not with their faces looking like that. So when Kagome came into view, they were, how you would say, relieved.

"What's wrong with her?" Kurama suddenly asked out of the blue.

"What do you mean what's wrong, she looks fine to me!" Yuske asked loudly.

"Something doesn't feel right." Kuabawra put in with a shiver.

"What doesn't feel right, what's wrong with her?"

"She's not smiling." Hiei said.

"I smell death and bones." Kurama put in.

"And there's another Kagome standing behind her with a bow and arrow." Kuabawra finally said.

And so there was, and before the others could yell a warning, the other Kagome had let loose the arrow.

**THIS TIME **

As if sensing the arrows approach, Kagome turned around with a look of cold hatred written over her face, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge, for the arrow struck her dead on in the shoulder, sending her crashing to the ground with a cry of pain.

"Kagome!" Kurama yelled as they ran to protect her.

"If you want her, you're going to have to go through us." Yusuke threatened the other Kagome, getting into a fighting stance.

"Idiots." She growled distastefully, raising her bow. "Stand aside or else I shall have to shoot you where you stand."

"I'll like to see you try lady."

"Ignoramus." she huffed, dropping her bow with an exasperated sigh.

The cocky smile that had crept onto Yuske's face after her seemingly submission, was wiped clean from his face as he saw the other Kagome with her eyes closed making signs with her hands, which were glowing pink. Making one final sign, with her hand held directly in front of her face, the other Kagome opened her eyes and thrust her hands out as if delivering a blow. Form her outstretched hands came a cube of pink light that expanded into a wall as it neared them. It came so fast that not even Hiei could dodge. It hit them full force, sending them flying away from the fallen Kagome.  
Regaining their composure, they made to charge the other Kagome but found themselves trapped in a dome of pink energy.

To busy putting a barrier around the spirit detectives, the other Kagome did not notice the fallen Kagome stand, until she felt a familiar spiritual energy coming towards her. Turning on a dime, the other Kagome spun to the side and caught the arrow just as it passed her. Snapping the arrow in half with her clenched fist, she threw it to the ground with a scornful snort.

"You've improved." The hurt Kagome remarked standing up straight, tying to ignore the wound in her shoulder.

"Getting rusty..._Kikyo_?" the other Kagome asked, spitting out her name like venom. "Your stolen years are starting to catch up on you? I guess living over 500 has its draw backs."

"Demon souls last much longer incarnate. And we've lived splendidly, awaiting the time to regain my soul from you."

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Kagome said sarcastically raising her bow, and then on a second thought she lowered it and smirked smugly at the dead priestess. "So where's the puppy? Did you kill it once you got tired of it, or did you still his soul whilst making love?"

"No, _actually_ we've spent wonderful years together with you out of our hair." Kikyo grunted as she wrenched the arrow from her shoulder and throwing it to the ground.

At the sight of Kikyo getting four arrows ready for the attack, Kagome smiled. Revenge was sweet and she had a sweet tooth.

As the arrows were launched, Kagome calmly stood still and waited, and as they got into range she let her ki flare, disintegrating the arrows at once.

"You know Kikyo, ever since your clay pot of a body began walking this earth, I've always wondered how you were going to die, how _I_ was going to kill you. And I think I've got it." Kagome said with a wicked smile as she stared down at her incarnate, who tried to hide any fear.

How could her sweet, innocent, incarnation seem so cruel, so powerful, so wicked? That was her job.

"I'm going to kill you with my bare hands. What do you think about that?" Kagome finished getting her hands into attack position as they began to glow pink.

"I say you're way over your head." Kikyo said with a snarl as she began to ready a bow.

"Oh, well I say you're way over _my_ head." Kagome said with a wicked smile as she thrust one of her glowing hands out into open space. Clenching it close, she smiled as she saw Kikyo drop her bow and arrows and clutch her threat as if someone was choking.

Grinning like mad she clenched her fist harder and lifting it higher she was satisfied to see Kikyo rising with it. Smiling up at the gasping figure, her face turned to that of pure hatred, and whipping her hand as if operating a whip, she sent Kikyo crashing into the ground.

Reeling her fist back like a pitcher, she sent Kikyo flying into a tree. Unclenching her fist she took a flying leap at the prone figure, hands up and ready for the kill, but was taking off guard by hundreds of tiny, flying, blue streaks. They hit her dead on, they were too small to do any real damage but hundreds of them together left her with many a cuts and a torn outfit. Catching one of the streaks, she landed a few feet from Kikyo and inspected her hand.

"Tree bark, is that the best you can do?" Kagome laughed scornfully at the shakily rising figure.

"No, this is!" Kikyo yelled throwing her palm towards Kagome as a blast of miko energy careened towards her.

Swatting the energy away like an annoying pest Kagome began to stalk towards Kikyo. "I think you've lived long enough, it's time to die, and I want my soul back." Kagome told the wounded and drained dark miko.

Looking down at her with no emotion Kagome raised her head to deliver the striking blow, when out of nowhere a fist connected with her head. Sending her careening into a tree with such force, the tree split on contact.

* * *

"Okay, so Kagome put us in here. We were protecting the wrong girl. Kagome beats the crap out of her look alike. The look alike is seemingly evil. Kagome's about to kill the look alike, when some white haired guy pops out of nowhere and hits Kagome like she's a man. Is that right?" Yuske ranted as they watched this all unfold. 

"That seems about right." Kuabawra answered.

"Oh...WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"

"Kagome's look alike is her incarnate, Kikyo. Kikyo is a walking corpse living off stolen souls. Kikyo has a portion of Kagome's soul. The white haired hanyou is Inuyasha. Kikyo and Inuyasha are seemingly in love with each other. Kagome used to be in love with Inuyasha. Inuyasha betrayed her. She's taking revenge. And Inuyasha has come to protect Kikyo." Kurama said giving a brief detail of the situation.

"Really, so these are the guys from her story earlier?" Yuske asked.

"Precisely."

"Do you think she'll be alright out there fighting by herself?" Kuabawra asked concernedly.

"She won't if she is still in love with the hanyou." Hiei finally spoke up keeping his eyes trained to the fight outside.

"Well do you think she is?"

No one had an answer, but Hiei had a pretty good guess.

* * *

"Inuyasha." She growled low in her throat as she fought against the pain and stood up, brushing tree branches, bark, and dirt off her as she did so. 

Standing up, she could clearly see the white haired hanyou fussing over Kikyo. But once seeing her on her feet he smirked and got into a fighting stance, claws out and on the ready.

"What's the matter Inuyasha? Haven't you missed me all these years?" Kagome spat with a look of hatred on her face.

"Can't miss what was never there...Copy." Inuyasha spat right back, hitting her where it hurt most.

"Why don't you die?" she growled with such hatred that she seriously resembled Kikyo.

"AFTER YOU! IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" he yelled sending his attack flying towards hers.

But she just stood there with that look of hatred. Reaching behind her back, she pulled out a black handled katana that glowed with her miko powers. With one smoothe motion, she deflected the attack and sprang into action. Sprinting towards her former lover, she attacked him with fury of slashes, kicks, and miko.

At first, he was caught off guard with the sheer speed of her, but he soon got used to it and began to fight back. The world outside began to become a thing of the past as the two fought their hearts out. But their hatred of each other wasn't completely clean. There was a spot...maybe a speck...maybe there was still love somewhere deep down. Maybe.

"Why don't you use tetsuaiga? Or did it stop working for such a worthless hanyou? Maybe I should have given it to Sesshomaru when I had the chance. I wonder...did it stop working once you decided to protect a dead pot instead of your friends."

"Actually," he said with a wicked grin. "It stopped working the day I decided to _kill_ our friends."

Kagome's heart froze over. Dead, they were dead and it was all her fault. Her moment of shock was all it took for things to crumble in her favor. For now, Kikyo had rejoined the fight.

Stringing a bow with six arrows, Kikyo let them loose, all surrounded by her dark miko energy. Smiling, she watched as most hit Kagome dead on, sending her crashing to the ground like a stone. Not all arrows hit, but enough to inflict much damage. One in her right shoulder, one in each thigh, and one where her chest met her stomach.

Barely making her way back to her feet, Kagome tried to pull the arrows out, but it was too much effort, and her heart was too heavy, so she barely acknowledged anything as Inuyasha began to pummel her body, with fists, feet, and claws. Or when Kikyo dark energy jolted her with painful shocks.

"Oh that's right." Inuyasha laughed picking her up by her throat. "You weren't there. You left, and they died."

"At least the monk didn't die by Naraku's curse, it was better this way." Kikyo adding coming to rest on Inuyasha's shoulder with a malicious smirk.

Smiling at his beloved, Inuyasha clenched his fist tight around her throat and relished in the sound of her gasping for air, before tossing her to the side like a rag.

Gasping, she got to her hands and knees, and drowned in her misery as she watched her tears hit the ground.

"You haven't changed, you're still such a little cry baby!" Inuyasha snarled as he kicked her hard in her stomach, sending her flying into the air and into her barrier.

Staring at the spirit detectives with, dead, doll like, blank, yet crying eyes. Kagome could do nothing but hear the taunts and haunting information Inuyasha and Kikyo spilt out.

"Their deaths were quick, but messy. Got rid of Sango and Kirara first. I won't get to explicit about their deaths, let's just say, it was a covered funeral...if they had the body. You should have heard how Miroku called out for her. They were engaged to be married in a month. Miroku went down next, did him and every other woman a favor; cut those lecherous hands of his off. He would bled to death if I hadn't of crushed his heart in his chest. And Shippo," all the while Inuyasha was saying this he and Kikyo were making their way towards Kagome's prone body, but as he got to the part about Shippo, Kagome's eyes spasm, but the two weren't able to see.

"And Shippo, how scarred do you think he was...having someone who looked so much like his adopted mother, hold him down as I killed everyone in front of his eyes, before tearing his throat out with my bare hands."

Kagome's eyes slowly blinked, and when she opened them, they bled her pink miko energy from the corners as they glowed a white. Her face contorting to that of pure hatred she rose like the dead. She didn't sit up or bend any part of her body in any way. She just rose. Her body radiated with her pink miko, and her hair flew madly around her like hissing snakes.

Grasping at the arrows imbedded into her body she, without flinching, ripped every single one out, some came out easily and clean, others with chunks of flesh.

"You heartless, insensitive, conniving, bastards! I rue the day I released you from that tree! And someone as empty as you shouldn't walk the earth! You both should be dead and buried in your hells!" Kagome yelled, staring the two down with such hatred, that they could feel their skin burning, and so focused on the two at hand, Kagome's barrier fell, but the Spirit Detectives dare not move.

"w-What d-do you think you're d-doing? You c-can't kill us!" Kikyo stammered hiding behind an equally scared Inuyasha.

"Like hell I can't!" Kagome yelled holding her arm out towards the two. "GIVE ME MY SOUL BACK YOU BITCH!" she yelled as a ferocious energy blast erupted from her hand and towards the evil lovers. Before the blast could reach them, a protected barrier from the tetsuaiga surrounded Inuyasha, but seeing as how it wouldn't stand a full on blast, he jumped out of the way, leaving Kikyo to die.

Kagome smiled wickedly as the sounds of Kikyo's screams of anguish reached her ears. Placing her arm down, she saw that the attacked had wiped everything in that area from the face of existence, including Kikyo. Closing her eyes, she welcomed the remaining part of her soul back with a somewhat peaceful look, and with the rejoining of her soul, her ki and miko flared higher and her hair turned pink as she rounded her ferocious eyes on the cowering Inuyasha.

"So what now? You're going to kill me?" Inuyasha yelled, searching for an escape route.

"You don't deserve it!" she yelled as she levitated into the air facing him. Holding her hands out, she clasped them together, and down below, Inuyasha began to grasp at his throat, before screaming in agony as burn marks began to appear on his body...as she purified him. Purification wouldn't kill him, for he was half-human, but the pain was so harsh it would have him wishing for a brutal death, at least then the pain would stop.

"STOP, PLEASE STOP! I BEG YOU, KAGOME; I BEG YOU, HAVE MERCY!"

At hearing his please, Kagome laughed scornfully as her glowing eyes leaked tears. "Mercy! You ask for mercy from me! I whom you would have killed without a second thought! I, who, loved you despite your flaws! I, who put up with your name-calling, your picking, your possessive jealous ways! I loved you Inuyasha, I accepted the hanyou, not just the human or demon side, but all of you. And you betrayed for a long dead pot, who's only remaining love for you, was false! You beg mercy from me? Did you give mercy to our friends when you killed them? Did you? Did you even think about what they've done for you? NO! THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE THIS PAIN! NOW SUFFER INUYASHA!"

"Kill me! I deserve to die at least!"

"NO, NO YOU DON'T, YOU DESERVE ETERNAL PAIN!" Kagome yelled inflicting even more pain onto the hanyou, even when his body went limp. "SUFFER! SUFFER! SUFF...!" but a sudden pain through her body stopped her ranting, and as the ground flew up to meet her, she blacked out.

* * *

"Is she alright?" Yuske asked as Botan came down the stairs a tired and concerned look on her face. 

After knocking Kagome out and bringing her to the house, they had immediately called on Botan to heal her. Botan arrived promptly and one look at the injured miko, she ushered the boys out, for they were in Kagome's room, and began to tend to her patient. That had been over an hour and a half ago.

"She's going to be fine." Botan said trying to sound cheerful, but her face fell with the effort. "But she suffered some major injuries, her spiritual and miko powers are nearly drained. I'm afraid if you hadn't stopped her when you did, they would have killed her, and besides all that, her mind's in complete turmoil. She's depressed, angry, dejected, and sad all at once. I'm afraid what she'll do if she's left alone in this state. What happened?"

Sighing, the spirit detectives informed Botan of what Kagome had told them earlier then what had just happened. By the end of their tale, Botan had tears in her eyes.

"Oh that poor girl, no wonder she's like this. My heart goes out for her." There was a moments silence as Botan stared up at the ceiling towards Kagome's room. Sighing she turned to the spirit detectives with a sad smile filled with pity. "Well I must be going now, have to inform Koenma on current events. Oh, and don't disturb her for a while, I just fixed her a therapeutic bath, and she's relaxing in the hot tub." With that said, Botan hopped onto her oar, and was gone through a newly open portal.

"Didn't she say Kagome was really depressed?" Kuabawra suddenly asked.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Yuske answered him with an annoyed look.

"And she's up there by herself...in a hot tub...filled with water."

"You don't think she'll..." Kurama began as he caught on.

"Well she did just have a fight with her ex-lover and the woman he left her for, plus she found out he killed all her friends." Yuske said as he summed it up.

"But do you really think she'll..." Kurama began again.

"She's a nigen, and a nigen female at that. I wouldn't put her past it." Hiei added.

There was a moment's silence as the four looked at each other, and without a second thought, they sprang up the stairs to stop a possible suicide.

* * *

Kagome lay in the hot tub soaking as she mused over her life. Her heart was aching. Her eyes were swollen. She was sore all over, and she had just accumulated some nasty looking scars, not to mention she was now drained mentally, physically, and spiritually. But it wasn't so bad now. She had a whole soul. 

_'Was there any point in going on now?_' she wondered as she washed herself. _'She had no friends. They were all dead. So what was the point in going back to the past? Inuyasha and Kikyo were now dead, so what was left for her? Nothing. Because that was all she was worth, nothing.'_ Feeling a fresh wave of tears coming on she went to wipe them away, but as she was about to, her hand brushed against the Shikon no tama around her neck.

Sniffling she picked it up to examine it, only half complete. As her tears fell, one splashed upon the Shikon, and it seemed to ripple in her hand on contact. Staring curiously, she watched as it began to glow, and as the glow touched her hand, it spread throughout her body, re-energizing her and giving her the slightest taste of hope. There was hope for her friends. She had a magical well to the past; she could go back and save them.

But what if it had already happened? What if it was too late? How could she help them then, how could there be a hope? Unless there was a way to tune the well. Like a spell. Like a spell of some type in a book. A spell book for mikos, like the one in her room.

Sniffling once more and laughing a sad pitiful laugh, she wiped her tears and placed the Shikon back around her neck, but the tears kept falling and her heart still ached.

"You made me break my vow Inuyasha. I said I wouldn't let you make me cry anymore. And now look at me. I should just...I should." Coming up with a decision she closed her eyes, took in a deep breathe, and then submersed her body under the water.

_'Wash away the tears, soothe the pain, when you rise, you shall be whole again._' She chanted in her head under the water. _'Start anew; whole again, you can make it through. You have a mission Kagome Higurashi, help the detectives, return to the past, save your friends, collect the shards, you have purpose.'_ And with that final thought, she opened her eyes and stood up out of the water.

Just as four boys burst in screaming, it's not worth it.

There was an uncomfortable pause between the five, the time past was undecipherable, seemingly a century passed as they stood watching each other with wide eyes. They all were shocked, yeah, and if they would have stayed quiet and just backed away slowly they maybe, probably could have gotten away, but oh no, they didn't.

Kurama's eyes flashed amber gold, Hiei's eyes were as wide as saucers, Yuske's face formed a goofy, dreamy state, and Kuabawra opened his mouth and, "Oh Wow!" came forth loudly out of his mouth.

It only took 15 seconds. Only 15 seconds it took for Kagome to snap out of her state of shock, register the boys gawking, and for her to get extremely pissed. Her eyes seemed to light afire, the collar around her neck crackled but was ignored. Objects went flying around the room, one being a towel which wrapped itself around her lithe form, 10 seconds was all this took, and the remaining five was spent having an unseen force drag the boys into the bathroom and lock the door behind them. 15 seconds.

But it took longer than 15 seconds for Kagome to vent her anger. More like 15 minutes.

* * *

"Thanks boys, I needed that." Kagome said in a velvety sweet voice as she waltzed out of the bathroom and to her room. Leaving behind one hell of a scene. 

The four boys were a complete mess, the bathroom in an even worse of one. They all were soaking wet, there were a few bruises to go around and just a bit of bleeding. But they all were still red in the face from what they had seen.

* * *

Kagome awoke the next morning with the sun in her eyes. Sitting up, she moaned aloud as the soreness of her body hit her, and that's when she noticed that she was on the floor. 

"Umm...okay?" puzzled she looked around and saw that she sat within a pentagram drawn out with sand and the book was open beside her and four candles, all unlit, lay at her feet. "Oh." she said aloud as she remembered what had happened the night before.

She had poured the sand onto the floor and lit the candles, one for each of her friends. Sitting inside the pentagram, she searched within the book for a spell, allowing the candles to melt to nearly nothing. At last, she found a time reversal spell. She would use the candles as test subjects; if the spell worked correctly then the candles would resume their wax. And by the looks of the whole, unused candles, she cheered silently to herself. The spell had worked. But there was something else. While performing the spell, a storm seemed to gather outside, a strong wind had manifested inside her room, and the last thing she remembered before blacking out was a flash of lightening and the lights going out.

"Maybe I should have stopped." She muttered as she looked around at the littered room. "Oh well, too late now." Jumping up, she was about to prance over to her balcony but stopped as something fell down her body and onto the floor. Looking down she smiled mischievously as she saw the collar, and it was the size of a basketball. Just the size it was before being placed around her neck. It seemed it too had been affected by the time reversal. Stepping out of the loop, she picked it up and was about to throw it out the balcony window but stopped herself. It might come in handy. Some time.

* * *

By the time Kagome heard the sounds of movement downstairs, she had fallen into another pit of depression as she thought of her friends and the good times they had together. For no matter how she put it, or what she would do, they were still dead. Killed by her ex-love. 

Not wanting to raise any suspicions, she got dressed and left her room as she headed towards the sounds. Besides, she was hungry.

Stopping outside the kitchen door, for that's where all the ruckus was coming from, she took a deep breathe, fixed a smile onto her face, and braced herself for pity stares, but she braced herself for the wrong thing, and was taken by complete surprise.

She opened the door and froze in place, The kitchen was a complete mess, the faucet was running over, there was flour everywhere, cabinets were opened with food spilling out of them like they had threw it up. The refrigerator was wide open with a red headed one-year-old sitting in it and eating all the food. There was a spike haired four-year-old hanging from the ceiling fan, and a three-year-old black haired child was currently starting his own band with the pots and pans.

With her false smile plastered to her face like concrete, she slowly walked out and closed the door. "Okay, Kagome, you've been through a lot lately and you're hallucinating. You're actually had a nervous breakdown and now you're seeing your friends as babies. Nothing wrong with that, so you're going to cut the crap, walk back in there and see nothing...as scary as that. Okay here we go." Collecting herself and taking another deep breathe; she smiled and walked back into the kitchen. Only to find that nothing had changed. So she walked out, closed the door again and went into the living room. Making sure that nothing was on the sofa...she feinted, and toppled over onto it.

* * *

"Kagome. Kagome. Wake up." hearing Kurama's voice breaking into the darkness of her mind, Kagome began to come to. 

"Oh Kurama, I had the most horrible nightmare. Everyone were babies. It was..." now conscious she opened her eyes to find, not Kurama leaning over her, but a complete stranger with white hair, gold eyes, and fox ears. Still a bit disoriented she reached a hand up and began rubbing his ears, only when he started purring did she become fully conscious.

"WHOA!" she yelled hopping up and crawling away from the strange demon. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHERE IS KURAMA?"

The demon stared at her confusedly for a moment before giving her a seductive smile, which made her extremely nervous. "Kurama? Well you could say he's gone for the moment, which leaves us alone at last. I am Youko Kurama, by the way." Smiling at her leaned out slowly as if to grab her.

"OH NO! STAY BACK!" she yelled falling off the edge of the couch but jumping back to her feet almost immediately. Never taking her eyes off of Youko.

"Stay back? Oh no, see that's the opposite of what I'm planning. Kurama's had you for all this time and hasn't touched you. It's my turn now, the fox is loose and you're my prey." Stalking her, he pinned her to the wall and stared deeply into her eyes.

_'Oh please no, not with a fox demon. Please don't let him be my first.'_ She pleaded in her head even as she felt the effects of his magic wash over her, and found her pleading to be less...meaningful.

* * *

**Jaguargirl**: Hello everyone, here's chapter five. I just felt like posting, so I stopped right here, it was going to be longer, but that would have made me _take_ longer to post. 

**Jaguargirl**: Another reason I posted so earlier was so I could advertise my original fic. It's about a girl on a futuristic planet, who's best friend is a bodiless voice she fell in love with. I won't give away anything else, except a warning, listening to and falling in love with a voice can be dangerous, especially if the voice...is evil. Will his influence on this special girl, destroy the lives of other across the universe.

Love it, hate it? Can't decide unless you read it, so do me a favor and review it. Please. If you do, I just might update again soon, but hey, who knows.

Link is at Bottom of Profile.


	6. Chp 6 Move Your Body Like a Snake

**Chp 6. Move Your Body Like a Snake

* * *

**

Just as she felt herself falling deeper into his charm, he broke eye contact with a yelp of surprise and fury.

"Argh!" Youko yelled jumping away from the stunned girl to put out the fire that had erupted onto his clothing. Growling he glanced up to find a satisfied looking four year old with spiky hair. "Why you little bastard." Youko growled as he began to make his way toward the passive child.

Kagome took this moment to fully shake all the fox magic off. Taking in the immediate happenings, she went into action. Intercepting the furious fox demon, she scooped Hiei up into her arms and stared angrily down at him.

"You're awake?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah. and you shouldn't pick on little kids, or Miko's who come easily under hypnosis." Hoisting Hiei onto her back, she got into a fighting stance before charging the fox demon.

Aiming to knock him unconscious, she swung a chop at his neck, which he dodged with ease.

"You missed." He said teasingly ducking under her arm.

"No, I just needed you to move." She said smiling evilly as she aimed a kick at his crotch.

"You're going to have to do better than that." He said catching her foot.

"Like this?" she asked, using his hold on her foot as leverage to jump up into the air. With her free leg, she swung it up unto his shoulder. Shaking her other leg free she swung it up onto his other.

"We should fight more often if you're going to use these types of tactics." Youko smile with a devilish smile as he grasped her legs in his hands, his head trapped between her thighs.

Giving him a false smile, she squeezed her legs together tightly and threw her self into a spin, taking Youko along with her. Somehow managing to get himon his back, she effectively knocked him out with the chop he had dodged earlier.

"See, that was easy." She huffed proudly, before retrieving, the dizzy, Hiei from her back to cradle in her arms. "Are you okay?"

He merely nodded his head before looking her in the face with a suspicious look. "Why?"

"Why what?" she asked clearly confused.

"Why'd you stop him?"

"You mean why'd I stopped him from hitting you?" she asked in a scandalized voice, which he merely nodded yes to. "I can't stand to see children get abused. Especially by people with white hair." The last part she muttered to herself. "So, why did _you_ stop him from harassing me?"

He just shrugged and turned his head. "Didn't look like you liked it."

Smiling softly to herself, she hugged then kissed the stunned demon before setting him down. "Now what to do with you?" she said aloud to herself staring down at the unconscious fox demon she was currently sitting on.

* * *

"I'm the greatest thief in history, what makes you think a measly door can stop me?" Youko growled from within the confines of his closet.

"I don't." Kagome said casually, as she gathered things for the children.

"Then why do you sound so casual?"

"Try the door and you'll see." Kagome told him as she stopped in front of the closet expectedly. There was a brief moment's hesitation, and then his growl of pain as the door flashed pink with miko energy.

"Curse you miko."

"Yeah, well, the same to you...you perverted kitsune." Walking away, Kagome grabbed the bag she had packed for the children and headed for her room, but not before hearing the last comment the fox in the closet had to say.

"OH, don't act like you didn't want it."

"I didn't hear that."

* * *

Kagome found solving the answer to the babyfied **(yes I said babyfied)** detectives quite a challenge, when having said detectives running around her room like animals.

Kuwabara, who was closest to her, was constantly trying to get his hands on her equipment, Hiei, who didn't seem the type at all, was jumping from her bed to the dresser to the bed then to the ceiling, and Yusuke, who seemed the type in all ways, was pulling her clothes out of her drawers.

"CANDY!" Chibi Yusuke suddenly yelled triumphantly.

"NO!" Kagome yelled surprisingly as she jumped up, making the young Kuabawra, who been climbing up her, to fall over. "Not my secret stash!" she yelled, going over to where Yusuke and now Hiei stood.

"Give that here." Kagome demanded reaching her hand out for the bag of candy.

"No get your own ugly!" Yusuke yelled back holding the candy out of her reach and kicking her in the shin.

"Gah!" Kagome yelled in pain as she rubbed her sore knee.

"What's candy?" Hiei asked in a child like monotone voice, trying to keep his face straight and all curiosity from his voice.

"What's with you? You've never had candy before?"

"I've never heard of it?"

A look seemed to cross Yusuke's face as of a child getting a brand new toy. "Oooh...Here!" he yelled unfolding a chocolate and shoving it in Hiei's mouth.

At first reluctantly, Hiei began to chew the candy, then ever so slowly, his face seemed to light up as a smile erupted onto his face. "more." He said enthusiastically.

"Here!" Yusuke said eagerly as he plopped some candy into his mouth before giving Hiei a handful.

"Give it here!" Kagome yelled, not liking where this was going.

"Never!" both Hiei and Yusuke said in unison as they disappeared out the door.

"Come back!" Kagome yelled as she started after them, but before she could more than two feet, she tripped over her feet, and landed in front of a quiescent Kuwabara, who merely looked at her, grunting every so often.

"What's on your mind?" she asked exasperatedly.

Grunting again, Kuabawra spit out the pacifier and smiled an infant smile. "Poop."

* * *

"How can you fit all that inside a diaper?" Kagome asked disgustedly as she and Kuabawra left the confines of the bathroom. Stepping out into the hall she yelped as her bare feet touched something cold, wet, and slippery on the floor.

"What is...?" startled out of her sentence, Kagome had just enough time to firmly press herself against the wall as Yusuke and Hiei, both on sugar highs and screaming at the top of their lungs, rushed by on skillets from the kitchen.

"Not gone thirty minutes and they're already bobsledding." Not a full minute passed before Kagome realized she was talking to herself.

"Kuabawra? Kuabawra? Kuabawra!" suddenly in a panic, Kagome made to take off after the two bobsledders, knowing full well that they had taken Kuabawra, but it was also in her panic that she forgot the cold, wet, slippery substance on the floor and fell hard onto her back.

"Ow!" she whispered feebly. As she lay there in a dazed pain, a deafening sound suddenly reached her ears. Silence. "Well that can't be good." She said to herself as she clumsily got to her feet and made her way downstairs. The downstairs area was a mess, pillows were thrown everywhere, paper littered every possible surface, a fort of some sort had been constructed from chairs and blankets, and the closet door was open clothing thrown out of it as if it had thrown up. "That's nice." She said disdainfully as she steeped onto wet spots in the carpet.

Although a mess, the downstairs was eerily quiet. The only sound that could be heard was coming from the laundry room. Dreading what she would find, Kagome made her way towards the noise. On entering the room, she was surprised to find Hiei and Kuabawra sitting side by side quietly and watching the clothes tumble around in the dryer in wonderment.

"What are you two doing?" she asked as she came and squatted next to the two children, who paid no acknowledgement of her presence. Frowning confusedly, she also turned towards the dryer and tried to figure out what had them so mesmerized. And that's when she saw it. A hand. "OH MY GOD!" she screamed as she wrenched open the door and frantically searched for Yusuke.

"Yusuke? Yusuke! Speak to me!" she yelled as she cradled the dazed child.

"AGAIN!" Yusuke yelled as he fell back into reality.

"No! No more." Reaching behind her, she snatched up the other two who were trying to escape and hugged them to her body, exhausted by the morning's events.

* * *

'_What did I do to deserve this?'_ Kagome asked herself as she watched the three children run around the living room like crazy.

Hiei held the curtains in the air as he ran around the living room at a fast pace, Yusuke was jumping on the couch and slinging anything he could get his hands on, and Kuabawra was currently pulling everything off of the shelves and tested them for edibleness.

But this time she was better off to study what had gone wrong with the spell forshe had eradicated force fields at all the exits and around her so she could study undisturbed. Although she still had not noticed the open closet without a fox.

"I think I've figured it out." Kagome said aloud to herself, obvious to the three children making faces at her through her barrier. "I don't have an answer by I have the equation. Four candles, four people in the house. Four candles to represent my four friends, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and Sango. Two were demons, two were humans. Two humans in the house and two demons. Spell to be used was time reversal, and somehow I ended up with three babies and a fox. The fox part is confusing but I'll fix that right now. So to fix this, all I have to do is burn the candles and they'll get back to normal. Sure why not, not like I'm risking _my_ life." Laughing for no apparent reason, she immediately hushed as she saw that her 'accidents' had all fallen asleep.

"Aww, look at the little kidnappers and homicidal maniacs. Precious. _I need a picture_." Pulling out her camera from last night, she snapped the pictures and smiled eagerly. She couldn't wait to get these developed.

Getting up and letting down her barriers, she deposited each child onto the sofa and began to straighten up, just a little though, this wasn't her house.

"They'll be just fine in a few hours." She said as she propped the four candles onto the end table. Four candles for four friends.

"Yusuke." She said as she lit a candle with a green flame.

"Hiei." Black flame.

"Kurama." Amber flame.

"Kuabawra." Blue flame.

Stepping back, she placed a barrier around the candles so that they couldn't get blown out and smiled with satisfaction as a yawn escaped her lips. "I'm getting to old for this."

* * *

"I'm _really_ getting to old for this." Kagome said exasperated as she opened the door to her room only to find beautiful and exotic plants growing all through out the room.

"Come out come out wherever you are!" she called out as she entered the room, only to have the door slam behind her to reveal the grinning fox she called for.

"How did you get out?" she said with an annoyed huff as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You had the barrier set so that demons couldn't touch it...well just offer candy to a three year old human with distaste for authority and the fox gets out. Now where were we?" he said off handedly as he began to stalk towards her. He reached out about to grab her, but she simply sidestepped and slapped his hands away.

"Answer me this, why are you here and not a chibi Kurama?"

"Because I am a younger version of Kurama."

"You look older than him to me." She said as she sidestepped him yet again as he began to get closer and closer.

"Let's see if I can explain this love. Kurama was I, and now I'm he. I'm Youko Kurama the greatest thief there ever was. Kurama and I share a body. We were two different souls now merged into one. Are you following me?"

"I think I have it." She said with a smirk as she continued to dart him.

"You know, in my day I was also known to drive a woman insane within just a few minutes of..."

"Ahh...don't want to hear that _pervert_." She growled as she made a dash for the door, only to find plants had made a barricade around it.

"I bet you didn't know this about kitsunes...but we can see perfectly well in the dark." Flashing his seductive smile once more, he trapped her between his arms, one of his hands on the light switch.

"Don't you dare, if you do I'll scream." She threatened referring to his youkai hearing.

"I'm counting on it." He purred as he flipped the switch and pressed his mouth against hers.

* * *

The candles burned into the late night. Down to the last piece of wax and the flames finally went out. The sleeping children, now began to glow their respected auras, the next thing that happened, was a blinding light, and then the children were replaced with three full-grown sleeping boys.

All sleeping soundly, all memory of that day's activity gone from their mind. All except one who had not changed into a child, but a form of their former self, and had on looked everything that Youko did, and was doing to the very second they switched back.

* * *

"Anyone remember what we did yesterday?" Kuabawra asked his companions at the breakfast table.

"You know, I was just thinking the same thing." Yusuke said loudly slamming his hand on the table. "I mean something weird must have happened yesterday, because I woke up on the couch with Hiei and Kuabawra, who smelled like stale pee, Kurama overslept, and Kagome hasn't come down yet. Kurama, do you know what's going on?"

"Umm, no, I'm just as baffled as you Yusuke." Kurama said as he avoided eye contact with everyone, especially Hiei who was staring intently at him.

"You sicken me fox." Hiei said after a while as he continued to glare at the uncomfortable Kurama.

By now, Yusuke was staring at the two with suspicion, that is, was, until footsteps on the steps indicated Kagome's entrance.

"What took you so long, come on we've got...relics...to...find." stopping his rant, Yusuke stopped to look at Kagome. She wore a red tank top with tight, blue, low-rise jeans and some thick-soled flip-flops. On her head, she wore a baseball cap, and she had put her hair into a braid**. (This outfit was brought to you by ****kitsune Miroku)** But it wasn't that she looked hot that made him stop to look at her, but that she had stopped mid step and was staring wide eyed at Kurama.

"You both sicken me." He heard Hiei say from behind him and turned to find him glaring from the red face Kurama, who stared at Kagome, to said girl and back. Suspicous.

"Whoa Kurama your face is as red as your hair. What are _you_ thinking about?" Kuabawra said loudly in a teasing way, not realizing the distress he was putting the two in.

_Hot._

_It was so hot, but a good hot._

_Silver hair. _

_There were flashes of silver amidst the heat. The source._

_Sweat. _

_The heat was intense, so intense that sweat was drenching everything like rain. But it was ignored._

_Black hair. _

_There were flashes of black hair. Black hair amidst the heat and sweat and silver hair. The reason._

_Panting. _

_The heat and sweat mingled and caused panting to start, panting from heat, exhaustion, and more. But none was willing to stop._

_Red hair. _

_Flashes of red now began to override the silver until there was no more. None was left but flashes of red and black. The only ones._

Kurama's face now turned redder and he had to look away and think of something else. While Kagome's knees felt weak under her weight. "I'm going to take another shower," she said in a deadpan voice as she turned to leave.

"Oh no you don't. We're going relic hunting today whether you like it or not, no matter what strange, creepy, weird thing happened yesterday." Yusuke said authoratively as he snaked an arm around her waist and hoisted her down off the stairs.

"Fine. But if something happens to one of you, it was owed to me. Even if someone dies." She said darkly under her breathe as she glared. Unconscious of the arm still wrapped around her waist, nor the looks received by the others in the room by this hold.

"What?" Yusuke asked, not sure if he heard right.

"Nothing."

"Well come on guys let's go." Yusuke said as he hoisted Kagome up under his arm and began to walk off.

"I want to try something out." Kagome said after they had been walking for a while. They had been going in the general direction of where she felt the next relic. Yusuke had been carrying her the hold time, which she didn't mind one bit, when the idea finally came to her.

Setting her down, he crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. Ignoring him, she retrieved the relic holder from behind her back and began to concentrate.

"Okay now where is this stuff coming from?" Yusuke asked suddenly looking enquiring at her backside.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently smiling sweetly at him, missing how Kurama squirmed as she did so. Although Hiei did and frowned, well more than he usually does.

"That stuff! All that stuff you pull from behind your back!" he said enthusiastically.

"Sub pockets." She said simply in a girlish voice as she turned back towards her task.

"Sub what?" Kuabawra asked confusedly.

Sighing she turned back towards him with a good-natured smile. "Sub pockets. Look, have you ever made a girl so mad that she mysteriously pulled a mallet, skillet, or some other weapon from out of nowhere and hit you with it?"

"Matter o facts, a few times, different girls, various reasons, continue."

Retaining a smile she winked at him knowingly, again squirming and frowning in the background accompanied by narrowed eyes. "Anyway, during one of these 'fits' I realized that I have a mallet that magically appears out of nowhere. Where does it come from? So spending 'managed' time on my little project. I came to the conclusion that I had a bottomless sub pocket, behind my back that I could access at anytime. So realizing this I filled it with weapons, clothing, books, and random accessories. Any questions?"

"No. you go head with your bad self."

"Thank you Yusuky." She said with a smile before turning back to her task. Missing the squirming, and frowning, and eye narrowing.

Licking her finger, she touched it across the relic holder until one sparked her finger. "good." Drawing on her miko power, she touched the active hold place and watched satisfied as it glowed brightly. Clenching her fist, she grabbed the glow and flung it out from her, where it expanded into a vortex.

"Peace of cake." She said happily replacing the relic holder and coming to stand by her portal.

"Wow! Where does it lead?" Kuabawra asked as they all came to stand by her.

"To the next relic Mr. Peediaper."

"What you call me?"

"So you guys go ahead and I'll follow so I can close the portal behind us."

"Is it safe?" Kurama asked coming to expect it.

"Only one way to find out." Yelling loudly she kicked out her foot, hitting Kurama in the back and sending him disappearing through the portal. "Is he dead?" she said loudly in an eager voice, but which she fixed when the other's looked at her sharply. "This would be a bad thing."

"What do you mean 'is he dead'? Didn't you expect him to live or not?" Yusuke asked angrily indicating with his hands.

"I was just joking, I knew he would survive. _Sort of._ But he did anyway so go ahead so I can close the portal already. Gosh."

Turning her back on them, she listened as each one entered the portal and smiled victoriously. "Suckers. I'm not taking my ass in that thing." Dusting off imaginary dust from her clothes, she started on her way towards the house.

"Where do you think you're going?" a sinister voice asked from behind her.

"Home. You have a problem with that, firecracker?" turning around she found Hiei not standing a foot away from her.

"Yes, I do. Now are you going to go quietly or is force necessary?" He asked with a malicious smirk.

"You wouldn't dare." She said with narrowed eyes, but as she saw him take his hands out of his pockets and widen his smirk , she knew he dared. "Are you crazy? I'm not going inside that thing?"

"Like hell you won't." he growled jumping forward with his lightening speed and hoisted her over his shoulder, with one arm wrapped firmly around her waste and the other clamped onto her thighs.

"Don't get fresh and watch those hands Mr." her only reply was a growl and a pain in her stomach as he bounced her on his shoulder.

"You know...you're sexy when you're forceful. You little malicious maniac." She said trying for flattery, but he simply grunted and hopped into the portal with her kicking and screaming.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Kuabawra asked accusingly as Hiei hoped through the portal and half-heartedly threw Kagome to the ground.

"Hiei was being fresh and trying to cop a field." Kagome said angrily dusting herself off. "_Stupid, perverted firecracker_." She mumbled angrily to herself.

"Quiet woman." Hiei growled and pulling his Katana out before anyone could stop him, aiming to stab Kagome in the back. The malicious grin that had spread across his face vanished as the sword stopped mere centimeters from penetrating her back. All around him, time seemed to have stopped as he could see his companions stopped in place. And so was he.

Without seeing it, someone had come up behind, slithered one arm around his chest so that the hand lay directly over his heart, and the other cradled his face, with the thumb and forefinger grasping his chin. He knew the person to be female for he felt the femalely curves pressed firmly against him.

"Now why did you go and try to do something like that? I'm a bit testy with people trying to kill me today. Don't make the same mistake he did. For I barely have enough love for you already. That's a good boy." He knew it was the voice of Kagome, even though he saw her clearly frozen in front of him, that whispered so softly in his ear and he could do nothing but bare the feelings that rose through him, endure the pain she inflicted to his heart and face from her miko that she let loose. It was only a slight slip, but it seared his skin, and he grimaced as she also let some slip through her lips, for she whispered directly onto his ear.

Time started back up and Hiei found himself still in place, his sword a mere breathe away from killing off the miko, but he dared not. Sneering he sheathed his sword, much to the confusion of his companions of his sudden retreat. Kagome, on hearing the sword being sheathed, turned around with a look of curiosity.

"What was that?" she asked looking pointedly at Hiei with a hidden smile.

"Nothing." He growled diverting his eyes from her.

"Well that's good; now let's go find the relic." Smiling broadly, she waited to catch Hiei's eye to give him knowing wink.

"Which way to go?" Yusuke asked as she came to walk next to him.

"Umm...this way." She said brightly as she felt the relic's pull.

"What you mean through the thick wilderness with unknown demons and dangers?" Kuabawra asked in a monotone voice.

"The very one. Why? Is there a problem sweety?"

"No. Just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page."

"Good. Now let's hurry and get this over with." Yusuke finished, as he began to urge everyone on.

So onward, they moved into the thick brush of the forest, and they hadn't moved 10 feet when they fell into a steep pit.

"What type of shit is this?" Yusuke yelled as they landed in a tangle of limbs.

"Shut up and stop spooning me!" Kagome yelled.

"That's not me!"

"Then who is it?"

"I'm sorry Kagome." Kurama apologized as he moved a little.

"Don't move _that_ way." Kagome yelled as she tried to slap him.

"WOMAN! Refrain from touching my person!" Hiei yelled as Kagome slapped him instead of Kurama and in a very personal place.

"Your _person_...OH EWW! I need soap and water!"

"Get your butt out of my face Urameshi!" Kuabawra yelled, shoving him.

"No! Don't touch me there!" Kagome yelled hysterically.

"Sorry Kagome!" Kuabawra apologized sincerely.

"Oh who can stay mad at you?"

"By the way, that _was_ me that time." Yusuke laughed before getting socked in the jaw.

"Pardon me Yusuke!" Kurama said retracting his hand.

"You did that on purpose."

"What are you looking at?" Kagome asked in an annoyed voice.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Those demons."

"What demons."

"The demons pointing spears at us from the pit opening."

"Oh. Those demons. I thought you were talking about some other demons."

The spirit detectives awoke to find themselves in a wooden cage seemingly inside a temple. Around them were tons of snake demons that went on by their day as if they weren't there, none would even look there way. The snake people had no legs, for there bottom halves were snake like, while there upper bodies were that of humans. All had emerald green hair and scales, with forked tongues and yellow reptilian eyes.

Now they would have found the wooden cage easy to get out of, but around there cage was a moat of hissing green liquids whose fumes weakened them for no activity more than sitting and watching.

"Hey! What do you want with us?" Yusuke managed to yell loudly towards there two guards.

"Silent human. You speak when the king addresses you and no more." A burly armed demon yelled without turning to look at him.

"Yeah, well you just wait till I get out of here. I'm coming after you first." Yusuke threatened although he got no reply.

"Where's Kagome?" Kuabawra suddenly asked alerting the others to her absence.

"Hey! Ugly! Where's the girl?" Yusuke yelled towards there guard, still receiving no answer. Getting angry, Yusuke started to yell his head off, but before he could utter a sound, there was a commotion at the entrance of the room they occupied.

Entered the room, followed by maiden escorts, slithered in an old withered snake demon with a large headpiece and gold accessories.

"Your highness. We have captured trespassers. What would you like done to them?" The guard yelled respectively as he bowed to the ancient king.

The king looked from the guard to the detectives, back to the guard, and said nothing for the longest. He didn't even seem to be breathing, but with a sharp rap on the back from one of the maidens and he snapped back into it.

"Trespassers? Trespassers! I'm too old to deal with trespassers! This would be an excellent job for the Mistress! Go get her!"

They're was a rush and a clamor as the serpents jumped to action and soon the room was practically empty except for the detectives and the king, whom had gone motionless again and stared at the detectives without blinking.

"What are you looking at old man?" Yusuke yelled after a while.

"Your bald headed mama." The king replied in his wheezing voice. Yusuke, being as shocked as he was, could not say anything and just stared with his mouth wide open.

"Now entering our Mistress Schlange." A loud voice announced as the room quickly filled with the snake demons again.

Now all the demons bowed low to the ground as a hoist of strong armed, males demons entered, carrying a sedan chair on theirs shoulders. And on the chair, dressed in a fine silk gown, drinking out of a gold goblet, being fed grapes, and having her bare feet tended too, laid Kagome.

"Mistress Schlange, Mistress Schlange." The demons chanted as she was set down in the middle of the room.

"Kagome!" the detectives yelled in surprise only to have hundreds of angry snake people hissing at them.

"You do not directly address Mistress Schlange?" the guard yelled angrily.

"MISTRESS SCHLANGE!" the king yelled loudly. The ones closest to him nudged him in the back to quiet him down. "We have discovered trespassers on our sacred grounds. WHAT DO you wish of them?"

"Hey! We came with her." Yusuke yelled only to be ignored as all attention was on Kagome.

"Shall we kill them for you my lady?" The first guard asked humbly.

"No, no, nothing of that sort. Now let me see. Hmm...For trespassing on our sacred grounds...SLAVERY! They are to be turned into slaves. My _personal_ slaves." Smiling ruthlessly at the spirit detectives, Kagome clapped her hands and the next thing the detectives knew were shackles being placed around their necks, ankles, and wrists.

"What do you mean slave! I'm nobody's slave." Yusuke growled angrily at her as they were escorted out, following Kagome as she was carried down the hall.

The fumes of the toxic moat seemed intensified the closer they were to the snake demons and the more they fought it the weaker they felt, so they had no choice but to do what the snake people forced them to do, and if it meant being Kagome's slave, then so be it.

"I really hate her sometimes."

"Quiet Urameshi."


	7. Chp 7 The Passion of Flames

**

* * *

**

Chp. 7 The Passion of Flames

* * *

Kagome was having the time of her life. Being catered to by her so called captors and freaky snake demons who loved her feet. Lying on her chair in an elegant, dark green dress with a high split, she had Kurama brushing her hair, Yusuke fanning her, Hiei holding a tray with her drinks, and Kuwabara was feeding her grapes. None were too happy but they couldn't do anything because they were drugged up on snake venom.

"You know…I think I'm going to like it here." Kagome said with a smile as she grabbed her drink to sip from. On her head she wore a golden tiara in the shape of a snake with it head resting on her forehead. On each arm she wore multiple golden bands that jangled up and down her arms. She also had two gold ankle bracelets that rested on her bare feet. On awakening with the snake demons she found her shoes gone and she hadn't seen them since. Snake demons loved feet.

"I really hate you right now…" Yusuke mumbled weakly for the umpteenth time.

"I know." Kagome said well naturedly as she ordered Hiei to fill her glass. She didn't know what she was drinking but she knew it was good.

"Is he looking at me?" Kuwabara asked uneasily, his eyes on the demon king who had come to speak to Kagome 3 hours ago and hadn't said anything since.

"I don't know I think he's dead. But I do know that this is one good drink. I wonder it is."

"He stopped breathing twenty minutes ago." Hiei, the first time he had spoken since being forced to become Kagome's slave, commented dryly.

"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT IS MISTRESS SCHLANGE!" the king suddenly yelled, making everyone jump, but a quick slap to the head quieted him down a bit.

"What?" Kagome asked the once again quiet king, but he said nothing.

"That's getting old fast." Yusuke muttered eyes the king with disdain. "…I hate you Higurashi."

"Well I'm sorry, but I love you…love for you to fan harder slaveboy. Chop chop!"

"…its venom laced with aloe and a cup of our purest ones blood. Shaken not stirred with a twist of lime and cherry and a spruce of pineapple." The king continued as if he hadn't taken that five minute break.

"Excuse me _what_?" Kagome asked with a mouthful of the poison she had been drinking.

"You heard him." Yusuke said with an amused smirk.

"WHY WOULD YOU GIVE ME THAT?" Kagome yelled as she spit the drink onto the floor and scratched at her tongue. "I'm human! I don't drink this type of stuff!"

The king's answer was slurred out as he fell asleep.

"No! None of this!" Kagome said loudly as she hopped to her feet and nudged the old man, although it was more like shaking vigorously. "Answer me old man!"

"EARTHQUAKE!" the king yelled as he awoke with a start.

"No…now answer me right this moment! Why did you give me that?"

"Mistress Shclange is our most prized being. SHE CAN'T BE Human…but we wanted one with legs. NONE OF US HAVE legs if you've noticed. So on finding you we IMMEDIATELY concocted the potion…to give you ESSESCNE OF snake…DEMON! Of course you won't have our beautiful…SCALES or skin tone. Nor or RESOURCEFUL…tongues. But…but…"

"BUT! But what?" Kagome yelled as she continued to shake and slap the old demon…but her effort were futile. He was out like a light in a coma.

"Our apologies Mistress Schlange…but he has overexerted himself. He will need to rest now." A female snake demon hissed as she slithered to Kagome's side and placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Oh. Oh yes of course. Matter-o-fact, you all can leave for the night. My slaves can attend to me from now on." Kagome said quickly as she ushered everyone out.

"You are so kind Mistress." The demon said graciously as she dragged her king out by his tail.

"Yes, yes. You're welcome." She replied hurriedly before slamming the door shut behind them.

Turning around she saw the smug expressions on all the spirit detectives face and inwardly flinched. '_They are going to hound me forever for this._' she thought grimly as she sauntered over to them.

"You know…we are going to laugh about this later." She said in false cheerfulness as she smiled prettily at them. But they only growled at her in response while Yusuke even had the nerves to crack his knuckles.

"Fine have it your way." She said angrily as she bounded to where she could keep an eye on them. "I'll let you have your revenge later, but now we have to get out of here. So…truce for the time being?" she asked giving the best 'I'm just a cute, innocent girl and I'm truly sorry can you forgive me' look she could muster.

"You owe us." Yusuke said as they gave in. Who could resist the 'I'm just a cute, innocent girl and I'm truly sorry can you forgive me' look?

"Works every time." Kagome muttered gleefully under her breath.

"What?"

"I said it's only a matter of time." She lied looking at them seriously. "You guys are too weak to try to escape now. Rest here and then we leave."

* * *

"If anyone asks…we are merely going for a walk." Kurama whispered as they strolled down the hall behind Kagome.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." She said offhandedly as she strode down the hall with a purpose in the swing of her hips.

"Must you walk like that?" Hiei growled, as the sight of her perpetually swinging hips gave him a headache.

"Like _what_?" she asked as she rounded on them with an irritated look. "Must _you_ criticize everything I do?"

"Mistress Schlange?" a quiet voice asked ahead of them. "Where are you going?"

"Me? I'm only out for a stroll with my slaves." Kagome lied as she gave the demon a small, reassuring smile.

The demon narrowed its eyes briefly. "MISTRESS SCHLANGE IS ESCAPING!" he yelled in a tell-tale voice.

"What? Again!" they heard yelled in response.

"Not another one?"

"Why does this keep happening?"

"Run." Kagome whispered to her companions before they took off running in the opposite direction.

"You know, when I said run…I meant run _with_ me…not run ahead and leave me behind!" Kagome yelled as they began to leave her. Seeing as how they did not slow, she tried a different approach. Whining. "I can't run in this dress and you guys are leaving me!"

Growling aloud, Hiei broke off from everyone else o double back on Kagome. Without stopping a second, he hoisted the running girl onto his shoulder and sped off towards the others. The way was fairly easy as they ran, the way being cleared of any hostile snake demons by Yusuke and Kuwabara, but they did not stop running, even when they burst out into the opening night. They did not stop running until they were sure they were clear of the Snake temple.

* * *

"Wow! Now I don't know about you…but I can't wait to get back home. I'm sleepy, hungry, and just my luck…its laundry day and I have no clothes. Not to mention shoes_. Besides I think I need to call poison control_. So…let's go home." Kagome said cheerfully as she began to walk off only to have her armed grabbed and be forcefully yanked back.

"We still have a job to do. Now where is the relic?" Yusuke said through clenched teeth.

"You can't be serious. It has to be 1:00 in the morning."

"And whose fault is that? No one told you to play priestess with those demons. Now march!" he barked as he pushed her in the opposite direction.

"You are _very_ unpleasant." She said as she stopped to look at him seriously.

"March!" he barked taking a step towards her.

"That's why your breath stinks."

"March!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. _March_!" she snapped, mocking the way he barked. "It's this way." She growled as she turned on her heel and headed in the way she had been going in the first place.

* * *

By the time Kagome led them to the spot, she was angry and irritable. Her feet hurt, she was cold, her dress had a considerable amount of tears from tromping through the overgrown forest, and she was itchy from mosquito bites. The spirit detectives knew this so they made no attempts to further anger her.

On exiting the forest they found themselves at the foot of a very large temple.

"Did we go in a circle?" Kuwabara asked as he thought they were back with the snake demons.

"No, this place is old and deserted." Kurama stated as he looked at the foliage that had encased the temple.

Without a word to any of them, Kagome began to trek up the steps at a fast pace.

"Hey Kagome! Slow down!" Yusuke yelled as he ran up the stairs after her. The other's followed at a much slower pace. They watched as first Kagome then Yusuke reached the doors of the temple. They couldn't see what happened but Kagome suddenly turned on Yusuke with an angry frown and hit him on the shoulder before both fell through a trap door. The others raced the rest of the way up the to the top with sudden urgency, Hiei made it first, only to find no trap door, but their screaming could still be heard getting fainter and fainter.

"Well…that can't be good." Kuwabara stated after the screams had finally died down.

* * *

Kagome and Yusuke screamed in unison as they slid through a twisting turning pipe. Yusuke sat behind her so she held onto his legs for support when the pipe made an abrupt turn. It would turn left hen right so fast that they would crack there heads on the tunnel wall or slide across the ceiling. They slid down for what seemed miles, and at one time they thought they were sliding up at a 90 degree angle.

"You know this would be fun if my butt wasn't currently covered in slime." Yusuke commented as they grew tired of screaming.

"Same here if my dress wouldn't fly up above my head." Kagome replied as she tried to hold said dress down.

"I've noticed." He said with a smile.

Just as she was about to elbow him in the stomach, their tunnel ride suddenly ended as they ran out of tunnel and fell 15 feet onto hard, stone flooring. Fortunately for Yusuke he fell out last and had a soft landing, which happened to be Kagome. They landed in a large chamber with many tunnels branching off from half of it and the other half was covered by a black water pool. The ceiling was so high that they couldn't fathom where it ended. Up the length of the walls tunnel openings could be seen just as the one they exited. Light poured in from reflectors mirrors, but there were too many to tell exactly where the light was coming from.

"Get OFF!" she moaned as she pushed the burly boy off her to grip her abdomen.

"Thanks for catching me." He joked as he stood to help her up.

"Not funny. I think you broke a rib or something." She grumbled, taking his hand and doubling over in pain as she clutched her ribs with the other.

"Not like I could stop myself." He said gruffly as he scooped her up into his arms. "If it's any exchange, I'll carry you if you want."

"Well…just till I fell better." She said with mock resignation as she settled into his arms as he set off down one of the numerous tunnels.

* * *

"No!" Kagome yelled pushing Yusuke's offering hands away. "I can walk on my own. My ribs aren't broken, they're probably just bruised or something."

"Come on Kagome! I'll do better this time." Yusuke pleaded with a laugh trailing behind her.

"No! You dropped me _five times_! My _butt_ hurts worse than my _ribs_ now!" she growled as she rounded on him with a feral growl.

"Well I wouldn't have dropped you if you hadn't been wiggling around so much." He defended.

"That's because your hands kept wandering like a lecher. AND WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE!" the last part she yelled as they once again entered the entrance chamber.

"My hands didn't roam anywhere they shouldn't…_you kept moving before I could_."

"Pervert!" Kagome yelled at him.

"I'm a guy."

Choosing too ignore him, she examined the tunnels. "Have we been this way? Let's try this one." Picking a random tunnel she and Yusuke trudged on again.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked after a while.

"Yeah. So what?"

"Then why are you being such a perv?"

"If you must know. I like pretty girls. Keiko never let's me feel her up. Last time we spoke she ended up hitting me over the head with her purse. Besides…it's not like I'm cheating on her. She doesn't deserve that no matter how mean she is to me. What _now_?" he asked gruffly seeing she had stopped and looking at him strangely.

"You called me pretty." She said in a half accusing half confused tone.

"Yeah and? Haven't you been told that before?" he asked teasingly.

"Not too often." She answered with a small smile before returning to her trek down the tunnel.

Yusuke stared after her a few seconds, lost in bemusement. _'This girl sure was strange.'_ He thought before following her like a puppy. That was…until he bumped in the rope. It wouldn't have been too interesting, but he could have sworn that it wasn't there a second ago. The rope just hung listlessly in front of him, and not even the swing of Kagome's hip could draw his attention away from it. Oh yes, Hiei wasn't the only one affected by those hips, but none the less, that rope was tempting. What would happen if he pulled it? Nothing? Everything? A door would open? A dangerous beast would be let loose? He didn't know, but he was going to find out. Not bothering to inform Kagome of his find, Yusuke quickly grabbed at the rope and pulled.

There was a thick silence as Yusuke waited in anticipation. Nothing happened. "What a jip." He exclaimed slightly angry.

"Huh?" Kagome asked turning towards him.

"Nothing. You see I just…" Yusuke began but was cut off as the sound of brick sliding across concrete filled their ears.

Kagome was on him in a second, looking in horror from the rope in his hand to his sheepish face and back again.

"What? How was I supposed to know?"

Kagome didn't say anything as she slapped him in the back of the head and jumped out of the way as a wall suddenly dropped from the ceiling, and the one next to them slid away.

This continued spontaneously for fifteen minutes, with the two pushing and shoving each other out of the way of sliding walls with Kagome continuously calling Yusuke names.

"Idiot!" she yelled pulling him forward as a wall fell behind him.

"HEY! I didn't think anything was going to happen!" he yelled back at her over the noise.

"Why would you pull a strange rope in an ancient temple? Were you just asking for trouble?"

"Yeah Kind of! I was bored!" as he yelled this he pulled her to his chest just as a wall came crashing down in the spot she had just been standing in.

"BORED! You were BORED! What type of fu…" but she never got to finish her sentence for the floor began to rise and the wall behind them fell away, causing them to fall through the opening it left.

The scream they were about to let out was instantly squelched down as they hit water. Cold water. Cold, biting, deep water. Frantically they clawed there way back to the surface only to find themselves in the pool of the entrance chamber. They seemed to come to a shared conclusion. For they both, silently, swam towards the edge of the pool. Getting out first, Yusuke helped Kagome out and they both went to the center of the chamber and plopped on the ground back to back and watched sullenly as tunnels appeared and disappeared in all directions.

* * *

Kagome wasn't sure how long they sat there watching the ever changing tunnels, but she did know that it was long enough for their clothes to dry, leaving her freezing, and extremely bored. So bored in fact that when a tunnel deposited Kuwabara into the tunnel they didn't even flinch at his abrupt appearance.

"Hey I found you! Don't worry I'll save…" and that was all he said. Before he could touch the ground a tunnel opened under his feet and disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Well that was pointless." Yusuke remarked dully as a she agreed with a nod of her head. Then all was silent once more as they went back to watching the tunnels.

5 days later. Although it was really 3 minutes.

"I can't take it anymore!" Kagome yelled as she sprang to her feet.

"What is it?" Yusuke asked as he jumped up urgently from his nap.

"I can't take this sitting around. I need to do something. I hungry, my feet hurt, and to top it all off I'm FREEZING!" she yelled as she attempted to pull her hair out.

"It's not that cold."

A thought seemed to hit her for she slowly turned to look at him a suggestive smile. "Well…not to someone as hot as you." She said softly as she gave him an alluring look.

"Excuse me?" Yusuke asked with surprise written all over his face.

"Listen Yusuky, you just heard what I said. I'm bored…cold…and hungry. I'm sure with your help; a few of those problems can be abated." She said charmingly as she walked up to him.

"Um…uhm." Yusuke stammered as he suddenly got nervous.

"Now you're looking extremely hot_, I'm cold_, so why don't you warm me up and…_take it off_." Now that she was up in his face she whispered the last part and Yusuke grew red. Was it him or _did_ it just get hotter?

"Kagome…I…I have a girlfriend." He tried to explain.

She frowned for a second and rolled her eyes. "And I had sex with Kurama. What does that have to do with us right now?"

He couldn't say anything. He didn't know _what_ to say. He sighed in defeat as a smile broke onto his face. What Keiko didn't know couldn't hurt her.

* * *

The tunnels still hadn't stopped moving and Kagome had taken up looking at the many hieroglyphics carved into the walls. She did this with a smile for she was now warm and had something to do after her little compromise with Yusuke. Said boy sulked on the other side of the chamber looking strangely dejected and disappointed and she couldn't for the life of her figure out what had caused his abrupt mood change. She suspected it had something to do with boredom.

Yusuke looked back at her and mumbled angrily under his breath. He thought he had won the jackpot all of a sudden. But no, she only wanted his jacket. "Stupid girl." He mumbled, although he was the one being stupid for thinking Kagome would actually…. "I hate her sometimes."

Getting up moodily he turned around only to bump into another rope. And like the one before it, he was utterly enthralled. Slowly and inconspicuously his hand crept up towards the rope as his eyes darted back and forth from the rope to Kagome.

"You should really have a look at these Yusuke." Kagome began as she tried to engage Yusuke into conversation, but as she turned around she froze. "Yusuke what are you doing?"

He said as he grasped the rope in his hand.

"Don't do anything stupid. Just…let go of the rope and back away." Kagome said slowly in a coaxing voice as she made her way slowly towards him

He paid her no intention as he gripped the rope tightly.

"No. Bad Yusuke! Put the rope down. Drop it!" she yelled, addressing Yusuke as if he was a dog.

Yusuke too caught this and glared directly at her as he purposely pulled on the rope…and disappeared from sight as a newly formed tunnel opened beneath his feet and the rope was drawn upward and out of sight.

"NO!" Kagome called out desperately as she ran to the spot Yusuke had last been in. but it was too late, Yusuke was gone and so was the tunnel. "No." she said more quietly bamming on the concrete till her hand began to bleed. "Don't leave me alone." Ceasing her self injuring, she lay there for a second before she heard concrete moving behind her. Before she could look to investigate, the brick flooring she was sitting on suddenly catapulted her into the newly arrived brick wall just a foot behind her and slid down into the tunnel resting at its feet.

She slid into a dark and wet chamber. She groaned as she rubbed the back of her head where it had hit the wall. She wasn't sure if the wetness she felt on fingers was blood or slime. Groaning aloud once more the new chamber suddenly burst with light from a huge, magical fire that abruptly came to life. She was sure it was magical for despite the size and ferocity of the fire it dealt out more wind than heat although the heat was barely bearable. Stepping closer she saw an object floating in the middle of the magical fire. She couldn't see from where she stood but she could feel the power of the relic wash over her like a gentle wind.

Smiling victoriously she sauntered up to the fire only to get halted in her track by the force protecting the relic. It appeared in cyclone of fire. It stood as tall as a house and had teeth as think and long as full grown man. This she found out as it snapped its huge jaws at her. Its fur was as black as night and so was the fire on the end of it tail and in its eyes. It was a giant dog. A giant, ferocious, fire dog with a temper just as hot. And she had to fight it. When the boys fought water people, she had the dog from hell. Fate was so fair.

"You think you can scare me." She said with a laugh void of humor. "Let me tell you about my day. I had to baby-sit the spawns of Satan. I was seduced and lost my virginity to a Kitsune. I fell into a pit and was felt up by spirit detectives. I was poisoned by snake demons. I trudged through the forest with no shoes. _My feet hurt. _I was bitten half to death by mosquitoes. I fell through an endless tunnel. I had a man-boy fall on me from 15 feet in the air and possibly broken my ribs. Again I was felt up. I was scared half to death by constantly moving walls. I was plunged into extremely cold water. I got BORED! I was left alone. And to top it off I cracked my head against the wall. Do you think you scare me? I am completely pissed off! You don't scare me. YOU…SHOULD BE THE ONE SCARED! BECAUSE I AM NOT A HAPPY CAMPER AT THE MOMENT!"

The dog demon only growled fiercely before charging her with the speed and force of a locomotive. He had been warned.

* * *

"…and that's the fourth time I had to get my stomach pumped." Kuwabara concluded to his three companions on the steps of the temple. They been there all night and couldn't find a way to enter the temple. He had once when the wall opened up showing a door and he had caught a brief glance of his lost companions but he was soon thrown out from a drain at the temple's foot. That was where they had found Yusuke about an hour later. They had tried breaking down walls to find them, but whenever they did a wall was suddenly there blocking the newly formed hole. So they gave up and just chilled.

"You live a sad little life." Hiei commented at the end of the story.

"Maybe we should try to rescue Kagome again?" Kurama suggested.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Yusuke mumbled bitterly. He had been moody ever since they found him. They supposed something had happened between him and Kagome that had set the detective off.

"It was merely a suggestion."

"You sicken me." Both Hiei and Yusuke said at the same time.

Kurama just sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Yusuke was attracted to the miko, but he had a girlfriend and didn't have the right to say such things, but Hiei did it only to harass him. Hiei was too hardened and unsociable to care that he had gotten 'close' to the miko.

A loud snarling followed by an explosion shot all the detectives in defensive mode as a great dog demon crashed from the wall of the temple and towered above them menacingly. They would have attacked if they had not seen who was riding the demon like a horse. It was Kagome, looking fierce and warrior like. Her hair and body were wrapped in flames but she didn't seem to notice as she stared down at them. Her hair and clothing blew in an unseen wind and she held herself like royalty. He had never seen and never would again see anything as beautiful as she looked just then.

He found himself unable to look at her for fear he would disrespect and defile her somehow, and that's when he saw it. The look on Hiei's face. The look of awe and adulation as he stared upon the miko. But a second later it was gone and replace by his usual stoic face although not as solid. That look leaked out only a bit. Anyone other than Kurama wouldn't have noticed if they were to look at him just then. But Kurama had seen it, and despite what it would cause him, he took off all his claims for the girl. If Hiei wanted her, he would let him. His friend needed love, and just maybe…she'd be the one to give it to him, and if not or if the fire demon hurt her in anyway…Kurama would be there. Just because he laid off all claims to her didn't mean he couldn't lust after her anymore.

"I have the relic, now I'm going home and I'm going to sleep. And if you try to stop me…I'll kill you where you stand." Kagome threatened as she stared down at them in challenge. When none made to object she kicked the whining demon in the side and took off over the tree tops and into the waning night.

* * *

When the detectives arrived they found Kagome nestled down in bed fast asleep. They soon retired to their respective rooms themselves or off into the forest to do who knows what.

The next day, Kagome awoke before all and went outside to practice her swordsmanship. She didn't know how long she practiced before he finally spoke up. She knew he had been there the whole time. Watching silently. She had been about to address him herself when he broke the silence first.

"The snakes have heightened your agility." Hiei droned as he hopped down from the tree to land next to her.

"Among other things." She said quietly as she faced him.

"So are my senses, strength, and speed. Not to mention I now seem fire proof." She said with a smile going back to last night. "Oh and now I'm cold bloodied. But hey, those are the breaks.

"Let's test your new ability girl." Hiei said abruptly as he unsheathed his sword.

"Do I have a choice?" she whined as she got into a ready stance.

"No." he said shortly before attacking.

He seemed to attack head on, but a split second before he got within striking distance he disappeared only to appear behind her, but she was ready and blocks his attack.

"You're going to have to do better Firecracker. I was never slow before and now I'm even fast." She said with a teasing smile before they broke apart. The break didn't last a second before the two were on each other again. Swinging and swiping and blocking at each other. It would have seemed like a fierce battle if it wasn't for the occasional laugh Kagome would let out whenever she would nick Hiei with her blade.

Finally they parted and they stood apart facing one another, each panting hard with a pleased grin on their faces. "You're still a weak human." Hiei remarked.

"And you're still an evil Santa's elf from hell." Kagome said with a laugh as she got out of her defensive stance, never noticing the expectant smirk on Hiei's face. Although she didn't notice this, she did notice however how slits and cuts began appearing in her clothes and she became painstakingly aware of how clothes couldn't stay put with so many cuts and turned completely red as they fell away piece by piece, leaving her only in her underwear. And another thing she did notice was laugher. It was low and throaty, as if someone was trying to hold it in, and she knew just who that person was.

"YOU!" she hissed angrily turning towards the laughing demon. "You…boxers." Now smiling Kagome watched in self-satisfied glory as Hiei's fell away in a similar state. "You have scrawny little chicken legs!" Kagome yelled aloud as she burst into laughter. Hiei on the other hand scowled darkly and made as if to attack, but Kagome beat him to the punch. Literally.

"You don't treat a lady like this." she growled suddenly angry as she knocked him unconscious. Picking up her clothing, she marching the house, and pass the amused Kurama and Yusuke, with as much dignity she could muster while being half-naked in public.

"She is something." Yusuke said fondly as he turned to his companion. "You know if I didn't have Keiko, and didn't love her, and she was a bit bustier, and not so bipolar, and didn't hit me so often, and could be a bit more understanding, and didn't drag me to the mall, and didn't treat me like a kid, and didn't complain all the time, and didn't cry so often, and never got those huge pimples, and would let me feel her up, and…and…" by now Yusuke's light amused voice had gotten slow and quiet. "And…umm…what was my point?"

"That if you didn't have Keiko you would go after Kagome too?" Kurama answered for him.

"Yeah." He agreed half-heartedly. "What a bummer." He muttered before going into the house to brood.

"That's right Yusuke. You have Keiko." Kurama said softly to himself before turning his attention back to his unconscious friend in the yard being assaulted by squirrels. Just because he had lain off claims to Kagome didn't mean he didn't have spouts of jealously. And it was just that emotion that had him leave his friend to the mercy of the squirrels.

* * *


	8. Chp 8 Admire the Girl

* * *

**Chp. 8 Admire the Girl**

* * *

It was 3:42 a.m. No one was up and stirring. No one except the household, hungry, hyper miko. Singing and dancing along to a song only she could hear, dressed in nothing but a blue tank and matching underwear.

_"__Guiche__Guiche__, ya ya dada  
__Guiche__Guiche__, ya ya here__  
Mocha __Chocalata__ ya ya  
__Créole__ lady Marmalade__" _

She sang as she got the necessary ingredients out for her breakfast. She had woken up in the middle of the night with a ferocious appetite and her spirit in lighter moods than it had been before.

_"Voulez vous coucher avec moi, ce soir  
Voulez vous coucher avec moi" _

"Stop that infernal racket." A voice suddenly spoke up into the darkness.

Startled, Kagome spun around and dropped all the food she had been carrying, just to come face to face a smirking Hiei.

"You know," Kagome sighed as she bent down to pick up the food, "I may not be the best singer but you didn't have to call it _'infernal racket'_."

"Would you have preferred the other description that came to mind?" he asked.

Standing up, she looked at him darkly before depositing the food onto the table. "Probably not." She answered as she turned her back on him to rummage in the cabinets.

After a few minutes of staring at her, Hiei turned his head away with a slight blush. "Must you insist on walking around half dressed?"

She froze and mentally cursed her stupidity. Waking up in the middle of the night, with her sleep induced brain, and seeing no one roaming around, she had completely forgotten that she was alone in a house filled with male kidnappers.

"No, but I thought you liked to see me in my underwear, you perverted, chicken-legged, midget." Placing her things on the table, she made sure not to look at him, which he was secretly grateful for. "Here make yourself useful." She ordered as she slid a knife and assorted fruits to him.

"Not my fault you have such flimsy clothes." He told her as he took up the knife, with a dark look at her for demanding him to do so, and sliced and diced her produce.

"Besides…" here she paused as she saw that he was done. "Not like you would know what to do with it anyway." She told him off-handedly as she dumped her diced fruit into a bowl. Forgetting about the demon for a second she concentrated on her salad. Opening a can of yogurt she dumped it on top and proceeding mixing it in. Finishing, she grabbed the walnuts and crushed them in her hand before covering her salad completely with them. It wasn't until she had finished her salad, did the silence finally hit her.

Slowly looking up, she found pair of _would-be_ frightening eyes staring at her murderously, but she couldn't help but find it amusing, so she laughed aloud. She stopped this as soon as she felt the body against her back and the blade at her neck. She would never admit that a cold chill of fear slipped into her stomach for a moment, but only for a moment.

"I'd watch what I say, girl. I'm the most dangerous being you could ever encounter." He growled in her ear, as he pressed the knife to her throat again.

"Is that so? Well if you'll remember. I'm an excellent fighter, my agility is pure perfection, I'm a master illusionist, and I haven't even scratched the _surface..._at showing you what I'm capable of. Now the question is: who is the most dangerous? You or me? Besides…" she paused, taking the time to turn in his grip so that she was staring into his angry, glowing, yellow eyes. "I have two trump cards."

"Like what?" he growled, idly noticing that he could easily bite her nose off and that the knife had formed a shallow cut on her neck.

"For one, I'm a woman and…I have ways, two, well…that should be obvious…I'm a miko." As she said this, Hiei had to jump back as her miko flared in a mini pink tornado around her, wisps of it whipping out at him every once in a while. "And like I said…you wouldn't know what to do with it."

"Now, that's where you're wrong." He said with a wicked smile, as his body erupted into black flames.

Kagome visibly prepared herself for an attack, as she shook off the jitters his smile had given her. That smile, on his face, was the utmost wicked, creepy, scary, and unnerving thing she had had to witness.

Seeing her prepare for a battle, his smile widened, she had fallen for it. Preparing for a physical attack she had become vulnerable to the mental attack

The attack didn't hurt, force her across the room, or down on her knees or anything. It was just so sudden and vivid she couldn't move and was forced to watch.

"Still think I don't know what to do?" his voice called out as the images began to stop.

She couldn't respond, she couldn't tell him off, and she couldn't help the blush that spread from her head to her toe. By the time her vision was cleared, Hiei was gone and she was left alone with her shortened breath.

"Oh that's just great." She huffed as she tried to calm her racing heart. "All I need now is…"

"Is everything alright? What happened to your neck?" Kurama asked sleepily, as he came down the stairs, shirtless, and with mussed up hair.

To say the least, Kagome was anything but pleased. "You have sucky-ass timing Kurama!" She snapped at him angrily, "Why'd you have to come down now of all times, AND LOOKING LIKE…_that_!"

"I'm sorry?" he offered confusedly.

"Yeah, you damn well better be!" she growled as she snatched her forgotten food from off the counter and stormed pass him and up the stairs.

Confused out of his mine, Kurama looked around the kitchen trying to find what had caused the miko such distress.

"YUSUKE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Kagome's hysterical yell sounded out from further up the stairs.

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT THIS TIME OF THE NIGHT?" The detective could be heard yelling back.

"WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE HALF-NAKED?"

"IT'S HOT!"

"NOT THAT HOT! WHERE ARE YOUR BOXERS, YOU COULD HAVE ATLEAST WORN THOSE?"

"TOO HOT FOR BOXERS!"

"WELL _THOSE_ ARE TOO LITTLE!"

"_WHAT_ YOU WANT ME TO TAKE THEM OFF, JUST BECAUSE YOU _SAID SO_?"

"YES…NOT IN FRONT OF ME YOU PERV!"

"THEN GO TO YOUR ROOM DAMMNIT!" Yusuke yelled angrily, before slamming his door.

"ARRGGHH!" Kagome screamed as she could be heard storming off.

"What's with all the racket?" Kuwabara yelled angrily, although not as loudly as Kagome and Yusuke.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOUR CLOTHES!" Kagome yelled chaotically.

"It's hot."

"I can't take it anymore!" Kagome yelled as she ran to her room and slammed the door.

"What the hell is going on?" Kuwabara called out before shutting his door.

Even though the house was now quiet, Kurama could still hear ringing in his ears. That…and Hiei's laughter.

* * *

The night's exploits took a sudden turn for the worse for Kagome. After she half-heartedly ate her salad, she had calmed down enough to fall asleep, but not enough to stop the dreams.

Although Hiei's visions were not part of her dreams, they were the cause, and it wasn't the sex that caused them, but the physical contact and the thought of love…her love loss.

It started with Hojo. She had liked Hojo at first; she would have gladly gone out with him, started dating, fallen in love, gotten married and lived happily ever after. Hojo would have provided that and maybe more.

But then the well and her responsibilities there had happened and that door had closed for her. Hojo was out of the question, but his door remained unlock, she could have gone and opened it anytime, but then there was Inuyasha.

Inuyasha, her beloved hanyou, she was halfway in and half out. Just within range to see and hope but never touch, never to have, and just when she thought she could fully enter, there was Kikyo, there to fully turn his treacherous heart from her, and laughing scornfully, they slammed the door in her face, hurting her…and just to torment her…his door was a screen door, so she could see and never have.

Kouga. His door was half way open with him on the other side calling her to come…inviting her to be loved…to experience the love she wanted, but Inuyasha and his damned screen door had her caught in its crevices. She could have easily taken off the hold that the hanyou had on her and joined the wolf prince, but stupid her she waited, held on, and hoped until it was too late and someone else entered Kouga's door, and shut it silently.

Hell, there was even Miroku. If she had been interested, she could have had the monk, she knew him longer than Sango, _but there was Inuyasha_, and when Sango _did_ enter the picture, Kagome shut the door to him herself.

All the guys who had been interested in her, who she had been interested in…all closed to her, and she was alone. She didn't even bother looking down at the doors that housed the spirit detectives. Girlfriend, had love interest, schizoid/secret sex offender, and psychotic maniac.

She didn't cry, no…she bawled. It was a secret she had been trying to hide from herself for a long time, but that _bastard_, had to bring it all to the surface, and the bad thing was…he didn't even know.

She let the tears flow until there were none left. She sat on the edge a few more minutes before deciding it was time to get up and put all that behind her. Taking a quick shower she felt as if she had washed away all the sadness. Looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled and straightened her shoulders. When the right one came, she would know, until then, she would enjoy herself. It helped, but there was still that ache.

Her outfit, she noticed sardonically, was irony coming to kick her in the butt. It was a plain black tee-shirt with a red heart on the front with a sword resting atop it with a drop of blood hanging from the tip. On the back, it read: Hot, but Deadly. Her pants were just a plain pair of Denim jeans**. (This outfit was brought to you by: _Youko Kuramas Fox_. Next Entries are given a clue. **The clue is: ice**, and don't forget you can give suggestions for hair too.)**

Taking a deep breathe, she dipped into her stash of euphoria, and bounded out the door and down the stairs with a happy grin.

"Good morning, guys." Kagome announced cheerfully as she arrived in the kitchen and found all four boys sitting down to breakfast. Well, Hiei was just sitting.

She got only a grunt and an 'hn' from Yusuke and Hiei, while Kuwabara and Kurama had the courtesy to wish her one as well.

"Sleep well?" Hiei asked mockingly, as she swooped by.

Not bothering to answer him, she twirled back to where he sat and slapped him as hard as she could before leaping away like a ballerina. Grabbing an apple from the fridge, she plopped down next to Kuwabara. The other's ignored her as they continued to eat.

"Well it seems Hyperella is back." Yusuke muttered to himself.

"You damn right she…" Kagome began to tell him, but she stopped mid-sentence with wide eyes as her face turned red. "Stop it, you asshole with legs!" she suddenly yelled, pointing at a stony-faced Hiei, accusingly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about girl."

"Like hell you…" she paused again as her face turned even redder. "THAT! Stop it. Stop putting that in my head!"

This time Hiei smirked and sent the images again, making Kagome sputter in anger.

"Alright! Have it your way, Now prepare for war, BITCH!" the last part she yelled as a distraction, along with throwing her half eaten apple, at Hiei.

To show that he wasn't easily distracted, Hiei caught the apple, bit into it, and sent more images into Kagome's head, all in the same breath.

"First off. Eww! Second: TAKE THIS, YOU MIDGET FROM HELL!" Throwing her hand out in Hiei's direction, Kagome let loose a ball of her powers.

Seeing it coming, Hiei jumped off from the table he and Kurama occupied, obviously leaving Kurama to be purified, but then the energy ball changed course and followed. Realizing it, Hiei cursed and ran in another direction, the ball of energy getting closer every second.

"This has got to be the weirdest, or the funniest thing I've ever seen." Kuwabara told them as they watched Kagome squeeze her eyes close and shake her head vigorously, while balling her fists angrily. Hiei, on the other hand, was running around the room from some unseen enemy.

"Okay…I give up. What the hell is going on?" Yusuke as he turned towards Kurama for answers.

"I'm not sure, but I believe Hiei is tormenting Kagome with something in her mind, and she is sending him illusions." His explanation was cut short as Hiei tried to jump through the wall.

There was a moments silence as everything sunk in, then slowly Kuwabara and Yusuke began to laugh, Kagome came to her senses, and Kurama watched as Hiei lay in a daze.

"That's what you get." Kagome told him with a satisfied smile as she came to hover over him, her face as red as a tomato.

Growling, Hiei hopped to his feet and stared hatefully into Kagome's eyes. Clearly embarrassed by what had just occurred.

"Mess with me, and I make you run into windows that aren't really…" she faltered in her sentence as an unpleasant thought crossed her mind, and a second later, it became apparent that it wasn't of her doing. "Hey, you lost fair and square…don't go there." She reprimanded him with a frown. But you know that damn Hiei, he didn't take well to authority.

She flinched. "Okay…I give. Just…stop! You win!"

Visible pain flittered across her face; mental or physical, they didn't know. "I'm warning you, out of the bit of friendship I might feel for you, if you don't stop digging them up…I will hurt you." She warned as tears pricked her eyes, and she balled her fist.

Her friends. He was in her mind and bringing their memories to the front, making the ache in her heart bigger. Shippo, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Inuyasha. He kept bringing the hanyou to mind, happy times, followed by scenes of his betrayal. It tore at her and filled her with anger. He had no right.

"I said STOP!" she yelled angrily as her arm glowed pink with power and she brought it up to slap the cruel, demon hybrid.

Said demon held his ground.

"He's not worth it…" his voice cut through her anger like knife through butter. Damn him and his charming voice. Blinking back tears, Kagome looked to Kurama, who held her hand a mere inches from its prior target, and felt her anger melt. He was right; she wouldn't turn into a killer for him

Breathing heavily, Kagome motioned for Kurama to release her arm, which he did after a moment's hesitation. Replacing her arm at her side, she looked to Kurama, who she noticed had been burned by her miko for holding her hand, to Yusuke and Kuwabara, who had taken to standing incase they were needed, to Hiei, who was still staring hatefully at her. Returning the favor, she turned on her heel and headed for the stairs.

But before she could place a single foot on the first step, another image entered her mind. They were in the clearing, where she had fought Kikyo and Inuyasha. Yusuke had just rendered her unconscious, and they were gathering her up to take home. Then it showed Hiei, standing over a hardly noticeable Inuyasha, with his katana in hand, and the last image was of it coming down onto the hanyou and ending his life.

"YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!" she yelled enraged, as her anger took hold. With her miko flaring wildly, her hair turning pink, and her eyes glowing angrily, Kagome stepped back and formed a bow and arrow of pure miko and fired it straight at Hiei, who for all he was worth, didn't budge and smirked smugly. He '_knew'_ it was another illusion, and he would show her, that he couldn't be fooled.

"Hiei!" Kurama yelled at the last second as he grabbed the stubborn demon by the arm and dived out of the way as the arrow struck the wall with a blare of miko that singed their very being.

"LET ME GO! GET OFF ME!" they could hear Kagome yell as the power of the arrow finally subsided and they could get off the floor.

"Get off me, fox." Hiei growled as he pushed Kurama, who in order to save him had covered his body with his own, off of him. Standing up, Hiei saw that only a blackened and charred area remained of where he had only been standing a few minutes ago. Looking to where the yelling and screams, and occasional grunts of pain, were coming from; Hiei found his eyes fixed on a spitting hell cat.

"YOU HAD NO RIGHT! LET ME GO, YUSUKE, SO I CAN GET HIM! YOU HAD NO RIGHT! I'M GOING TO GET YOU! LET ME GO! HE WAS MINE! LET GO!" In her rage, Kagome couldn't keep her yells directed at him as she also fought against the hold Yusuke had on her.

"Not until you calm down." Yusuke grunted in reply. When she attacked, he had tackled her to the ground. Now he held her in the air, her arms pinned to her side and her feet flailing wildly.

"I AM CALM! NOW LET ME GO! HE'S GOING TO PAY! _I'LL_ MAKE HIM PAY!"

"Is this the voice of a calm person? No. Now come one, let's go to your room." Yusuke told her in a somewhat soothing voice as he carried her up the stairs.

"Way to go, shrimp." Kuwabara mumbled as he went to help Yusuke.

"You just had to piss off a powerful miko before you die, didn't you?" Kurama said shakily as he ran a trembling hand through his hair, wincing as he moved his burned, bruised body. Heading for the steps, he started to go to his room, but as a yell from an enraged Kagome and a flare of miko blazed down the steps, he thought better and headed for the living room.

Hiei was left alone, his breathing coming in shallow breaths, as his body shook with something he hadn't felt in decades. Fear. Just enough.

* * *

"I hope you're happy." Yusuke told the quieted fire demon, as they all sat in the living room. A still enraged Kagome locked in her room upstairs like an animal. It had been over an hour and half since she went ballistic, but they knew she was still angry for 3 reasons.

1.) They could hear her yell ever once in a while.

2.) Miko energy would flare down from the ceiling, making them all flinch as it barely reached their heads.

3.) Loud thumping noises could be heard, followed by ceiling plaster falling into their laps.

"Does anybody else feel like there's a monster up stairs waiting to eat the first person it sees?" Kuwabara asked seriously as he gazed up at the ceiling.

"Shut up, nitwit." Hiei muttered moodily. He's had a near death experience. I'd be moody too.

"Nitwit. I'm a nitwit? If I'm a nitwit, then you must be retarded, because even I knew not to make Kagome, _that_ mad."

Instead of replying, Hiei growled angrily and turned his back on everyone, missing Kuwabara and Yusuke, high-fiving each other and laughing.

There laughter was cut short as Kagome's yell of fury reached their ears once more. Only this time, there was something different. This time her yell got louder every second until she appeared in sight.

"Don't anybody move." Yusuke whispered as Kagome's angry figure landed outside, "She just might miss us."

"I think she's about to leave." Kuwabara told them quietly, never taking his eyes off the angry miko.

"Don't be st…" Yusuke began only to be silenced as Kagome pulled forth a portal and disappeared into it.

"Told you."

"But…but how? What about the collar?"

"Collar?" Kuwabara questioned confusedly, "she's been had that collar off."

"What are you talking about?"

"She isn't wearing it. She _hasn't_ been wearing it for 3 days now."

"Why didn't you tell us, idiot?"

"She's been standing in front of you, talking to you, and you were stuck in that temple with her…_I thought you guys knew_!"

"Oh…I'm hungry. What about you guys?"

* * *

When she had left, she had been filled with anger, full of pent up rage, full of adrenaline to kick some serious booty, but now, now she was spent. She was ready to find the relic, get back and soak in a tub. After, and she promised herself this, she kneed Hiei in the groin. That was a promise she was going to keep.

She had found herself on a snowcapped mountain, in the middle of a snow storm. It had started out as a little snow fall. Nice and pretty, maybe a little bit enjoyable, but it got harder, colder, and meaner. What happened to her nice, little snow fall? She liked the nice, little snow fall? This was a monster, this was the Damien omen of weather, this was evil, and it was out for her tender flesh. She wasn't being hysterical from the cold. No. The snow from hell, was evil and going after her flesh. She had proof. She knew that that's what it wanted. It wanted her flesh, and _had_ stolen some. She knew it because she couldn't feel it anymore. Where else had her flesh gone? The damn snow ate it.

"This is great!" she yelled, only to have her breath taken away by the cold wind. That was even better. Not only was the snow taking her body parts, but now it was taking her words too. The asshole!

"Not my feet!" She yelled as she found it harder and harder to pull her legs from the snow. Each stepped felt like she was trying to pull free from hardening cement.

After one vicious pull she felt the snow shift under her. She knew what was coming, and it was Hiei's fault.

"Hiei, you whore!" she yelled angrily before the snow under her feet caved in, only to be replaced by the avalanche she caused by yelling that last profanity.

* * *

The moment she woke up, she knew something was wrong. What she was laying on was too warm and comfy to be snow, her legs moved too fluidity to be still be pants, and she wasn't the only one breathing.

Keeping her own breath slow and steady, she cracked open one eye and glanced around. She was in an immense bedroom with extravagant paintings, drapes, walls, and, well, everything. Nothing dangerous so far, but now to check on that other breathing. Closing her eye, she rolled over, with her arms outstretched and met empty bed. At least, whoever it was wasn't a perv.

With half her head buried, in her opinion, the fluffiest, comfiest, softest pillow in the word she cracked open an eye and laid eyes on the intruder. He wasn't in the bed, but he sat asleep in a high back chair right next to it.

From what she could see of his face, he looked young, maybe around 16-17, but if his demon aura was anything to go on, he radiated age. He had russet colored skin with a healthy glow. He looked thin, but on closer inspection, she would say he was lean and fit. His hair, which was the color of ice, was cut into a crew cut with long bangs, and lying across his shoulder was a long, skinny ponytail.

Moving as silently as she could she slipped out the other end of the bed and onto the floor, where she found her shoes. Sitting on the floor, she quickly put them on, and, spotting her pants at the foot of the bed, swiped them up and on quicker than she gave herself credit for.

She stood up, and never taking her eyes off the stranger, she began backing up in the general direction of where she had seen the door. She felt something hard at her back. Reaching behind her she gripped the doorknob and turned it. With a squeak that seemed to radiate off the walls she pulled it open with a flinch and made sure that it had woken the demon yet. He still slept.

She was in the clear. Smiling victoriously, she quickly and silently exited the room and closed the door behind her.

'_Now_,' she thought, _'time to find an exit.'_

* * *

3 hours. She had been wandering around the castle for 3 hours without running into any exit doors or windows. On first realizing it was futile to walk around looking for a way out, she had swallowed her pride and headed back to the bedroom to confront the stranger…but luck would have it that she get lost. So here she was, 3 hours later, no longer looking for a way out, no longer looking for the stranger's bedroom, now she was sightseeing.

"I wonder who she is." Kagome asked the little fairy that had been touring with her for the past half hour. She had stopped at a familiar face hanging on the wall. The lady on the picture wasn't familiar as in she knew her, but familiar referring to she had seen other portraits of her.

The lady in the picture had long blue hair that fell down to her calves. Her skin was the same shade as her stranger in the bedroom. Her eyes were such a clear blue that they looked white. Her lips, which were turned up in a small smile, were cerulean, and if she was to take an educated guess, Kagome assumed they were naturally so. She wore a white and blue dress made of fur and feathers.

The scenery around her was of a snowy forest, and behind her, blending in with the snow, laid a giant, white wolf, or dog, or fox. It was something of the canine persuasion.

"Whoever she is, she's pretty." The fairy commented, as it too looked at the ice-demoness.

"Thank you, she is my mother." A deep voice replied from somewhere down the hall.

Startled, Kagome looked to where the voice came from only to find the stranger looking at her with the most dazzling amethyst eyes she had ever seen.

"Sorry if I startled you." The stranger said sincerely.

"Don't worry, you didn't." Kagome lied, preparing herself for a fight as the stranger waltzed down the hall towards her.

"Do you normally talk to yourself?" the stranger asked as he looked pointedly at the fairy.

"What do you mean? She's been talking back." Kagome directed at him with an annoyed look.

"That's even worse. She's not real." The stranger said with an uneasy look as he smiled nervously.

"What are you on, of course she's real." Kagome bit back angrily.

"She has no scent."

"Oooh. Busted." The fairy said as it disappeared.

"Knew I forgot something." Kagome muttered as she banished the illusion. "I got bored." She told the stranger with a smile.

The stranger smiled back with a brilliant smile and a light in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked concernedly.

"I'm Lui." He said happily as he grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously.

"Kagome." She replied as best she could. She was starting to get creeped out.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Really…_that's great_…could you let go of my hand?" Kagome asked nervously as she wished she was somewhere else. This had the word stalker/slasher movie written all over it.

"Oh, of course, Ms. Kagome." He said embarrassingly. "It's just I'm so excited to meet you…I thought I was going crazy when you fell through my roof calling someone a whore…which is very unladylike…but that's okay because you…are…my hero!"

Kagome, who was blushing by now, didn't know what to say. So she asked a question: "Do I know you?"

"Huh? No, you know, or _will_ know, or _knew_ my father." He answered as he calmed down a bit.

"And your father is…" Kagome asked innocently, not respecting the results she got.

Balling his hands into fists and tensing his body hard, fire shot from Lui's eyes and he hissed in a very evil, demonic sounding voice: "Dead to me."

"Okay…" Kagome muttered slowly with wide eyes as she began to back up. "I…I'm going to leave now…because I don't feel like dieing today."

"Oh, no wait…" Lui cried out desperately as he jumped up and back to normal. "I have father issues…I'm sorry."

"Obviously." She told him as she continued to back up.

"You must be hungry. Why don't you join me for dinner?" he offered, extended his arm out for her to take.

"I don't know…you have problems."

"You were knowingly talking to an illusion…that _you_ created." He accused.

"Ah, well when you put it that way. The crazy must go in company." She said with a quip as she looped her arm in his. "So what are we having?"

* * *

"Do you stay here by yourself?" Kagome interrupted curiously. After eating, he took her on an official tour of the castle; they had been in the middle of a tale about his uncle Cyrus when she asked her question.

"In a sense yes," he answered as he turned around to face her. "I live here by myself, but there's a maid and butler around somewhere. I haven't seen them for 8 years but I know there here because I'm messy. I'll leave dirty dishes, clothes, and trash everywhere, and come by the next day and find it cleaned up. I didn't do it, so I know there must be someone else here."

"Don't you find it a little creepy?" Kagome asked with a false shudder.

"Not really." He said with a nonchalant shrug as he headed down the hall, certain of himself that Kagome would follow. Which she did. Up to a few steps then stopped again.

So far, when ever they came to a new person in a portrait or to a doorway, Lui would stop and explain to her who or what it was. But he had just passed up a door without a second glance. Normally she would respect a person's privacy, especially when that person was a demon, but the door drew her attention. Not just it grandeur, but for a familiar aura that caressed her as she passed. The familiar aura of one of the relics.

The door was massive, as tallas the high ceiling of Lui's castle. It was a polished, dark mahogany with intricate carvings of a mighty tree. Along the edge of the door the carving continued with random things: foxes, swords, ravens, an angel, bow and arrows, etc. she didn't have time to fully observe all the carvings, for Lui had suddenly realized that she wasn't on his heel and had turned around and abruptly tried to distract.

"What's in there?" she asked despite his efforts to drag her off.

Sighing, Lui hung his head in shame as his face took on a serious façade. "That's…that's my old room." He said emotionally, "the help refuses to clean it anymore and…and it's hazardous…there's mold…mountains of clothes…old food…a new form of plant life…rodents…you can't…you can't see the floor…something's giving off fog…and…and a monster under my bed that…that manifested from…from a piece of…piece of bread and it hates me…one…one time it…it tried to bring me under…and…and I…don't want to talk about…can…can we leave…before…before it smells me. I don't…I don't want to put you in any danger." By now, Lui looked choked up, like he was about to cry.

"Okay…we can go." Kagome said sympathetically as she let him lead her away. She waited until they rounded the corner and their footsteps died down out of earshot before dropping the illusion. She had thrown up an illusion of herself, not forgetting to put a scent this time, and allowed him to take her off while she hid behind an illusion of invisibility in order to say back and retrieve the relic.

Bracing herself for an assault of nastiness, she put her shoulder to the massive door and shoved with all her strength. Fortunately that was enough to open it, but unfortunately she had braced herself for the wrong thing and stood in amazed horror at what she had found. A small museum. A museum of Kagome.


	9. Chp 9 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

**IMPORTANT/FUTURE OF STORY: **

Lately, I have been thinking of **discontinuing** my **fics**.

I just haven't been in a writing mood lately. Every time I start, I get discouraged and sidetracked. I'm either using my time for my artwork, or I'm working on my original stories, and I find myself just wanting to stop fanficiton.

At first I was just planning of going on a hiatus, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of just stopping. But I will not be deleting my stories off the site or off my computer, for I may comeback one day. But until then...it was nice writing for you.

_Courtney _

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* * *

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**Chp. 9 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner**

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* * *

**

"Holy Chester Cheetos." Kagome muttered as she looked at herself…every which way she turned.

She was on everything: portraits, tapestries, pottery, sculptures, and the occasional plate. Most were of her in her school uniform, but some…some showed her in clothing she knew she had never worn before. She fully entered the room, her eyes roaming over everything in wonderment. In display cases she found an old broken bow of hers, she found a necklace she had lost eons ago, and she even found her old bike. Walking around the room she looked at the paintings and tapestries.

One painting was of her helping Jenenji in his garden. A tapestry showed her standing on a bridge. Another had her standing on a cliff by the ocean with an inner light that showed out brightly and beautiful white angelic wings on her back. The next painting she saw was a pin-up of her. She was lying on a red couch, her black hair done up in curls lay splayed out over her. She wore a black corset on top of a black, firm fitting dress, with high slits that showed all of her exposed thigh, which were shrouded in white fishnet stalkings

"Yeah…he wishes." She mumbled as she went to the next painting.

The next painting was more accurate, although it was probably just as made up as the last two. She wore her school uniform and held a bow in her hands just as she let loose an arrow. From the arrow, and all around her, her miko energy flared widely as it struck the horde of demons in the picture. The rest of the pictures went on like this, and even some statues held a likeness of the pictures.

In the middle of the room hung a large tapestry and the sight of it had her halting in her tracks. On it was a scene she could remember doing almost everyday. It was her and the whole group, sitting down in a clearing, having a good time. She was the main focus of the tapestry she noticed, sitting in the middle, playing with Shippo, Sango and Miroku on either side of her. Miroku with his arms inside the sleeves of his robe, looking at peace, Sango with Kirara in her lap, looking at her and Shippo with a smile, and in the tree above her, almost out of shot, was Inuyasha, managing to frown and smile at the same time. A trait only he could muster.

She couldn't help but smile at them. Happy times. She looked the tapestry up and down, down and up, and then her jaw dropped.

On the ceiling, was a mural. A mural with her looking like a goddess. She was naked, with a large ribbon floating around her, covering up important parts, barely, and she was looking, and holding her arm out to, Lui. Who was in a similar state of undress and looking at her, their outstretched arms connecting at the finger tips. All around them were fluffy, supple clouds.

She burst out laughing. "Oh my god," she laughed hysterically, "I've got to get the hell out of here."

"Oooh! Yeah, you weren't supposed to see this room."

Turning on her heel, she saw an embarrassed looking, Lui, standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I got that! Now…umm….what the hell is that?" she asked pointing at the mural.

"Yeah." He laughed coming to stand by her. "My girlfriend hated that one."

"You have a girlfriend." Kagome asked.

"_Had_. She's dead. I killed her….but it was by accident." He quickly corrected. "Yeah it was an accident. She didn't mean to cheat on me and I didn't mean to shoot her…4 times…in the head…splattering her fucking brains all on the wall…the bitch." By now, Lui voice had gotten dark and angry.

"She was like _'oh, it was an accident. I tripped and fell on him, and I was naked because when I tripped my clothes got ripped off, and he was naked because he's a nudist_.' Bitch…bet she won't cheat now…because there isn't any cheating in hell. Which is where I put her…Kagome?" Lui suddenly noticed her absence.

"Kagome, wait let me explain!" he yelled, as he ran out the door after her.

* * *

"I should have just gone and killed Hiei, and then none of this would be happening." Kagome mumbled as she ran up and down the hall, looking for a way out. "What are the chances that I would meet up with my stalker out in the middle of a snow storm? I mean COME ON! Why is this happening?" 

"Kagome?" she heard him call out from somewhere behind her.

She looked to her left and looked to her right. Nothing to hide behind and all the doors were too heavy to open and close quickly enough, so she went to basics. Running over to the wall she threw her hands up into awkward positions and stood stock still. "I…am a tree." She muttered to herself, throwing up an illusion just before Lui appeared in sight.

"Damn." He muttered, seeing that she was gone. Sighing exasperatedly he slumped. "I have to pee."

Her eyes widened. '_He wouldn't.'_

He caught sight of her, and after looking up and down the hall, to make sure no one was watching, he bounded up to her, put one hand on the wall and the other went for his pants.

_'He was.'_

Without dropping her illusion, she struck him in the head and took off down the halls.

"What? OH! Oh the trees! OHH! Oh! They're fighting back!" Scared out of his mind, Lui ran in the opposite direction.

* * *

She had found it. At long last she had found the door, but it wouldn't budge. She pulled with all her strength and it didn't even groan. She kicked and cursed and yelled and fumed, but it never moved. Breathing heavily she glared at the door and backed up a few paces. Taking a deep breath she pulled her hands to her side and drew up a mass of her miko. She was going to blast her way out. 

She let her powers burst forward and she guided it towards the door.

It hit it dead on.

A barrier.

Her eyes widened.

Her powers ricocheted off the shield.

It headed straight for her.

She sighed and closed her eyes. There was no way she could dodge it…so she silently cursed Hiei and accepted it.

It hit her dead on and sent her flying.

POW! **(Sound effects. Pretend like it sounded authentic.)** She hit the wall…18 feet off the floor.

"Ow." She moaned from where she was plastered against a portrait of Lui.

Speak of the devil.

"Where are you, you damned tree? I'm not afraid of you and I have to pee!" Lui yelled as he ran onto the foyer, stopping, coincidentally, under Kagome, with an axe in his hand.

_'This is just getting weird.'_ Kagome thought just before she felt herself slipping.

He smelled her before he heard her, and the odds of Kagome falling from the ceiling were 1 to a million, so he disregarded the smell and searched frantically around for her, only to get landed on.

"Kagome?" he called out, before he was silenced from an elbow being plowed into his back.

"Stay away from me, or I swear, I will bring this place come crashing _down_!" Kagome threatened as she scrambled onto her feet and got into a fighting position.

"Wait, wait, just wait and hear me out!" Lui pleaded as he backed up.

Kagome cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"Okay…_Ms. Hostile_…how about I give you _this_, for a few minutes of your time to explain myself." Luis offered as he pulled forth from his a pocket, a rock. A very familiar rock. It was a relic, and a mistake on Lui's part.

Kagome sized him up in a second. The best form of attack would be to catch him off guard and rush him head on.

Lui faltered. This was not what he had been expecting. He started to run, when a thought struck him. Standing his ground, he gave Kagome the saddest, puppy dog eyes he could muster; stopping her mere inches from ending his life with the sword she held at his neck. They stood frozen in fear and confusion.

"Umm…where'd you get the sword?" Lui asked nervously as he dared not move.

"From behind my back, how'd you do that?" Kagome answered, shaken up about the sudden rush of emotions she had just experienced.

"It's the 'all seeing eye'! A defense mechanism against my opponent. It feels my opponent with whatever emotion I desire of them!" he answered automatically. "Could you please, take the sword off my neck, I think I'm bleeding."

"Give me the relic first." Kagome demanded as she held out her hand. As it fell into her hand, she frowned and pressed her blade deeper into his flesh. "Where's the other half?"

"The bastard I call father has it." Lui growled in response.

"Where can I find him?" she asked savagely.

"You can't, he has wards around his house that makes it so that if you don't know exactly where it is you can't find it."

"Then you'll take me to him."

"Like hell I will! You might as well kill me now. I'm never going back there!" Lui said defiantly.

Kagome hesitated a moment before sighing in defeat and putting her sword. "Fine, I'll find it myself." Pocketing the relic, she turned her back on him and scampered down the steps.

"Wait!" Lui called out as he jumped over her head and landed a few steps down from her. "You're leaving."

"Yep." She answered as she trotted pass him without a glance in his direction.

"But…but what about me?" he whined following on her tail.

"What about you?"

"Aren't you going to hear me out?"

"You got till I reach the doors."

"But you're already halfway there."

"Wasting time Lui." Kagome informed him as she reached the landing.

"Okay, okay…just two minutes. That's all I ask for and then you can leave me all alone in this house with a mutant piece of bread that wants…"

"Two minutes and counting, Lui." Kagome sighed as she stopped and folded her arms in annoyance.

"Alright…it um…all started when I was little. My father had this huge tapestry of this woman in his castle. I was very young, but I knew it wasn't my mother, so one day I finally asked him about. He told me she was the greatest female warrior he had ever known personally. That's all he said. The bastard, I was a curious child with an unsatisfied thirst for knowledge. He wouldn't tell me anymore, he didn't give me a name, if she was human, demon, or something else entirely. It was infuriating. I had to know, I kept asking, he never answered me. The years passed and I got older, kept asking more questions, kept getting no answers till he finally hit me on the head, threw me out the castle and told me to find out for myself. Bastard, I was only a child; he threw me out on my own into the countryside. I've never been away from home before; I didn't know how to defend myself. I was running for my life everyday, I bet he enjoyed it too, the sick son-of-a…"

"LUI!" Kagome yelled, snapping him out of his reverie.

"I'm sorry…um…I blacked out for a second, what happened?"

"You were just telling me that your father told you…"

"To find out for myself, right. Well, anyway, he finally gave me a name: Kagome. Going from village to village I found out about you, little by little. Getting descriptions of you, getting stories about you and your friends. I met this old woman who told me you were a time traveler. I thought she was crazy at first, but then as the years went on and learned more and more about you, I couldn't doubt it, nor could I accept. Over the years, I found and collected objects that you had lost or left behind in villages, in hopes that they would clue me in on who you were, and gotten the best artist I could find to create your likeliness from the descriptions that people gave. And you know I couldn't just throw them away, hence the shrine _MUSEUM_…museum upstairs. You turned from a question, to enigma, to obsession, and finally into a hero for me. I wanted to meet you, and figuring that you were a time traveler, I hoped to one day, that I would meet. And now here you are…a hostile, schizoid, who dashes my hopes to the ground, threatens me, and is cruel enough to leave me alone with the mutant under my bed that's out for my blood." Lui sniffed sadly; by the time he was finished and gave Kagome a look.

Kagome was overcome with guilt, and not knowing if it was her own doing or Lui's, she smiled reassuringly, not believing she was about to say this: "Um…I can't stay here, but if…you'd like…you'd could…"

"Come with you! Great, I'd love to! Let me just grab my bag!" Excited beyond words, Lui grabbed Kagome and pulled her into a hug, before bounding up the stairs, 5 at a time, but upon reaching the top he stopped and looked down at her. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you…I've loved you since I found out your name." and with that said, he smiled and darted down the hall. Leaving Kagome speechless.

* * *

Laughing loudly, Yusuke climbed from the dryer and fell to the floor a dizzy heap. "Okay," he laughed, trying to compose himself as he crawled and stumbled to the side of the room. "Your turn Kurama." 

For the past few hours, without supervision, the boys had been busy doing anything that popped into their heads to stop the boredom. Currently, they were taking turns riding in the dryer, and Kurama, who had waited patiently for his chance, was finally able to go.

"What are you guys doing?" a female voice sounded off from the laundry room door.

All taking innocent stances, four pairs of eyes turned to face a suspicious looking Kagome.

Glancing from their innocent faces to the open dyer door and sniffing the odor of burnt hair, she narrowed her eyes. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing." Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara answered simultaneously, while Hiei just hned.

On hearing him, Kagome turned towards him and scowled, which he was more than happy to return.

"Where the hell have you been? Why didn't you tell us you were leaving?" Yusuke suddenly asked.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know you were my daddy."

"You can call me daddy if you want." He muttered under his breath with a sly smile.

"What?" she asked confused.

"You ever rode in the dryer before?" Kuwabara questioned.

"Is that what you've been doing?"

"What happened to the collar?" Kurama interrupted before anyone could say anything.

"You wore a collar? That's sexy!" Lui said with a smile as his head appeared in the door, but as he got a look at the room's occupants he frowned. "I didn't know you lived with four guys."

"It's all strictly platonic, don't worry. I wouldn't fool around with these guys, I merely work with them." As the sentence left her mouth, an uncomfortable silence filled the air and the lights seemed to dim on everyone but Kurama, who fidgeted under the stares, glares, and scowls.

"You sicken me." Yusuke and Hiei said in unison.

"Right…" Kagome continued. "besides…their all defected…that one's a schizo, that one's an antisocial homicidal maniac and closet perv, that one is rude, angry, loud, and has a girlfriend, and he's a sweet heart, but is in love with someone else. So you see…I'm a free woman."

"Cool…so where's my room?"

"Your room!" Yusuke yelled. "What's he talking about?"

"He's my guest." She said haughtily as she draped an arm around a beaming Lui's shoulders and guided him out the door.

"This is not a hotel." He yelled as they marched out behind her. "You didn't ask our permission…" he started, but just then, Lui turned to face them and they halted in brief fright.

Smirking at them, Kagome and Lui interlocked their arms and headed up the stairs.

After a moment, the boys' fear completely vanished and they looked at each other in confusion.

"…What the fu…?"

* * *

"So?" Kagome asked the pale haired boy on her bed. "Do you have anything you want to ask me? Since I'm your hero and all." 

Lui, who had been busy soaking in Kagome's scent, turned his head to look at her. "Of course I have questions, but I won't ask them?"

"Why not?"

"Because, my past is your future. The random pieces of information I have on you aren't in any particular order. I don't know if it happened yet or not, and if I ask a question that hasn't yet occurred I could disrupt the space time continuum and the universe could implode on itself. And it'll all be my fault, just like that bastard said. Then all through the afterlife, everybody'll point at me and say _"that's the kid who destroyed the universe. His father was right; he should've listened to him."_ And I will not risk having that bastard be right about something."

At the end of his rant, Lui was breathing in and out heavily in anger, while Kagome smiled in wonder. "I can't wait to meet your father and see if he's as bad as you make him seem."

This seemed to sober Lui up, for he then sat up with an annoyed look. "You'll never meet him if I had a say in the matter."

"Why? Think he'd be too horrible to me?"

"The opposite, actually." Lui muttered.

"What was that?"

"Let's not talk about him, let's talk about us." Lu stated as he grabbed her hands and held them tenderly.

"Us?" She said with mock innocence as she smiled at him. "What about us?"

"You know what." He answered suavely, as he spun her on her knees and slammed her back into his chest and he embraced her. "I've won your heart; now all we have to do is mate and have a horde of children to grow up and hate their grandfather with a passion."

"What makes you think you have my heart?" Kagome asked as she looked at him over her head.

"You mean I don't?" he asked scandalized. "Then why the hell are you leading me on?"

Kagome's smile then dropped for a sec before she replaced it with an obliviously fake one. "I don't know." She shrugged, as she got up from his embrace. "I guess it kind of felt nice. Listen…I have to go cook dinner or else we'd be eating burnt ramen again." Giving him a sham of a smile she left the room and headed downstairs.

As she shut the door, Lui sighed in defeat before flopping back onto Kagome's bed, inhaling her scent and dreaming of killing his father.

* * *

"HEY!" Yusuke yelled as Kagome emerged from the stairway. 

"Why are you yelling?" she asked him in aversion.

"Because I have issues."

"Don't we all?" she muttered under her breath. "What did you want?"

"You know? I don't even know any more, oh yeah. HEY KAGOME!"

She sighed. "Yes Yusuke?"

"Where you going?"

"I'm going to go cook. Why? You want to help?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"S'kay. I'll let you handle that."

"If you wouldn't mind the company; I'd be happy to assist you." Kurama offered, standing up and offering her a sincere smile.

She regarded him with unease for a second before returning his smile. "I wouldn't mind at all." She said as she headed for the kitchen, closely followed by a relieved Kurama, who ignored the looks being thrown at his back.

A while went by and the sounds of pots and pans clattering around filled the house, so Yusuke and Kuwabara turned up the volume on the TV while, Hiei went to brood outside.

A tromping on the stairs got there attention, and turning in their seats, they saw an annoyed looking Lui coming down the stairs, and without a glance there way, headed straight for the kitchen.

"Hey, Lui!" they heard Kagome greet cheerfully, "you want to help us?"

"Anything for you beautiful. So what are we making…_Kurama_?"

They couldn't hear what Kurama said, but from the way Lui pronounced his name, Yusuke and Kuwabara knew there were some looks being thrown over the miko's head.

"I bet you ten dollars Kurama comes out in the next five minutes." Kuwabara stated as they returned to watching the TV.

"Don't be stupid. Kurama's not that weak. I'll give him seven."

* * *

The boys were wrong not to give Kurama more credit than that. In fact; he lasted way longer than both their time combined. He lasted a little more than 15 minutes. 

He came from the kitchen looking frustrated and annoyed; and with a sigh he flopped down on the couch beside Yusuke.

"…he scared you, didn't he?" Yusuke stated, rather than asked, a while later.

Kurama shot him a look.

"Sorry. _Let me rephrase that_, he did that eye thing, didn't he?"

Kurama sighed again, meaning yes.

"It's creepy. I don't blame you for running away." Kuwabara added with a shudder.

Kurama shot him an icy stare.

"No, no, Kuwabara." Yusuke reprimanded him, "you have to rephrase it."

"Oh, right. Sorry. His gaze is quite unsettling and he made you uncomfortable and so to ease your…constitution, you departed the room."

Kurama frowned at them, meaning yes, while Yusuke applauded Kuwabara for his wonderful rephrasing.

Kurama glared at them from the corner of his eye as they burst into laughter.

"I'm going to find Hiei." He announced as he got up and headed outside.

"Yeah, Kurama…before Lui comes back in here and OW!" before Yusuke could finish his taunting; the end of a whip has caught him in the mouth. "Not cool, Kurama!"

* * *

Dinner had been a bit unsettling. After finally managing to finish making it, no thanks to Lui, who, found it far more entertaining to tickle Kagome when she had no way to defend her, she had to endure a quiet, tension induced meal, with everyone glaring at everyone, or Lui. 

To make matters worse, Lui's constant flirting actually had an affect on her. She liked it, she responded, she blushed, she giggled, and she flirted back. What was she becoming? She was so focused on him, that by the time she noticed Kuwabara and Yusuke stealing off her plate, it was all gone. Having that to sober her up, she brought up the subject of the missing half of the relic.

Scowling, Lui started on yet another rampage about his father, never really answering her question.

Sighing, she propped her elbows on the table and put her chin in the palm of her hand and let her eyes drift. Not a second later, she met the stare of a crimson-eyed demon. She scowled at him, which he returned, but she found she couldn't hold it for long. She wasn't angry with him anymore, he was rude, angry, and a bastard, but the anger simply melted away. A small smile flitted across her face, and he scowled harder in confusion.

She laughed aloud at his confusion, catching the attention of the others, and missing the glances that were thrown. Yusuke glanced at Kuwabara and made the universal sign for crazy. Kurama glanced at Hiei, who returned his glance, and Lui glanced, then scowled, at Hiei and Kurama both.

Kagome caught his glare and cooed. "Oh what's the matter?" she asked, putting a hand to his cheek, which he immediately melted into, and caressed it.

Without answering her, he took her hand and kissed it…starting the flirting process all over again, but not before smirking at Kurama and Hiei, who scowled and glared back at him.

Kagome currently found herself in a predicament. After dinner, she and Lui had returned to her room, she was going to go to sleep, he just followed, and were discussing, or she was discussing, on how to retrieve the other half of the relic…when loud snores interrupted her.

"Lui? Lui? LUI? Wake up!" she growled, shoving and poking him, but he slept on.

"Wake up!" She yelled this time, as she hopped and elbowed him in his back, he grunted, her elbow was beaming, and he continued to sleep.

So that's how Kagome found herself without a place to sleep. She had tried taking the room Lui was supposed to sleep in, but…Lui's things were in there, including, the stuffed horse. She had balked when she saw Lui hauling the mangy thing down the stairs, but he had whined that he never went anywhere without it and that he'd keep it in his room, but here she was…face-to-face with the thing. She shuddered as it stared at her, and quickly slammed the door when she thought she heard it neigh.

She wondered down the halls, hoping that one of the boys had gone to pee, so that she could steal their room, but they were all snuggled in their beds, sleeping soundly; she cursed them all to hell.

She stopped outside Hiei's door. She considered it, she thought it over, and she mulled it around in her head before coming up with a conclusion. She would do it.

Silently she opened his door and crept inside. There he was, just like she was expecting, sitting up against the headboard, arms across his chest, sound asleep. Smiling victoriously, she pulled a big, bat from her sub pocket, and stalked towards him with the bat held high. She felt insane, who would do this? Who would creep into someone's room and bash them with a bat?

She would.

She was at the bedside now, no time to waste she brought the bat down with all the force she could muster, only to have him catch it in midair.

"Well hello there." She greeted, staring up at him as he stood in the bed, towering over her menacingly. "I know this looks bad and all but…you are going to laugh at this later…" she laughed, but Hiei's gaze was hard and humorless.

Mid-laugh, a thought struck her, her only way out…she attacked. With her free hand, she aimed for his midsection, but his hand was there to catch her, and before she could counter, she felt herself hauled and tossed onto the bed, her head buried into the mattress.

"What are you doing in here, _now_?" Hiei growled, as he grinded his knee into her back.

Hearing him put emphases on the word 'now'; Kagome remembered that this would be the second time she had sneaked into his room. She was in the wrong, and she knew it; but she wouldn't admit it. Swinging her leg up, she kicked Hiei in the back of the head, and as his grip on her slipped, she reared back and elbowed him off of her, and as he fell beside her, she pounced.

It was a free for all wrestling match which made Kagome realize…demons were strong and she was only human. And so, due to this dilemma of strength, Kagome found herself on her back, her arms pinned her sides, and an extremely annoyed fire demon straddling her waist with a sword at her throat.

She laughed nervously as her eyes roamed over her situation. "This doesn't look good, now does it?"

"What are you doing in here, woman?" Hiei asked her in a deadly quiet and slow voice.

"Do you want the truth or the lie that might or might not appease you?"

Hiei growled in reply and put the sword closer to her throat.

"Okay, sheesh…Lui fell asleep in my bed, his room has a creepy, stuffed, demon horse, and I was only coming in here to knock you out, and throw your unconscious body out the window so I could sleep in your bed. Now that I say it out loud it doesn't seem that…smart." Kagome took a deep breath after she told him and shifted. "Are you going kill me?"

"No." he said in a strained voice, after a pause.

"Good. Cause don't just think you can kill me, I'm a beast when it comes to…" suddenly she went quiet as her eyes widened and she looked off into the distance. "Hiei? Um? Wha…what is that on my leg?"

"Don't worry girl, it's my scabbard." He answered her quickly, as he hopped off her.

She sighed in relief as she hoisted herself up. "Whew! That would have been…why is it so hot in here?" she suddenly asked as she turned face him, and her jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Are you blushing?" she asked loudly, but when he turned to face her with a raised eyebrow, she saw that his face was just as emotionless as ever, not a trace of a blush could be seen.

"My bad. Just thought you had a soul there for a second."

"Make sure you don't disrupt anything." He said flatly, as he got off the bed and headed towards the window.

"Huh? You're going to let me sleep here?" she asked suspiciously.

Hiei didn't answer her as he hoisted up the window and jumped out, leaving her alone.

She dared not move for a while, waiting to see if he would sneak back in, but when he didn't, she laid down. "If I wake up dead in the morning," she muttered sleepily, "I'm going to kill everybody."

* * *

**Expect "Shining Star" to be updated next.**


	10. Chp 10 The Bet

**Chp. 1 rewritten. Poll in profile.**

* * *

**Chp. 10 The Bet**

* * *

"Don't play with me Kagome." Lui could be heard yelling from up the stairs.

"I'm serious." came Kagome's reply, sounding agitated.

"I'm for real. Don't lie to me. Cause if you do…I swear…I will bite you." Lui threatened.

"Lui." Kagome sighed as she turned to look at him. "I'm one hundred percent serious. Do we have a deal?"

"First let me get this straight. You'll take a bath with me. A real bath. I'm talking about lots of no clothes. Just a real naked bath, where at first we'll seat across from each other, because we'll be shy, and then I'll look over at you, all naked and covered in soapy water, and you'll look at me then we bathe each other to get over the shyness. Then when I'm washing your back, I'll accidentally scratch you, and you'll say,

'_Ow, it hurts Lui, make the pain go away'_, so I'll lick the wound till it's healed and then you'll say,

'_Oh, it feels so much better'_, and I'll say,

'_I'd do anything for you'_, then we'll look into each other's eyes hungrily, and then make sweet love in the tub. Then after that we'll go into your room and get all nasty and raunchy in the sack, and then up against the wall, once on the floor, and then on the wall again. Is that what you're saying Kagome?" Lui asked hopefully.

"No, that's not what I said at all." Kagome said as she tried to shake images out of her head.

"Then what are you saying…because I like my version way better."

Sighing, Kagome opened her mouth to reply, but then she realized that they were at the foot of the stairs, and staring oddly at them were the Spirit detectives. Now she was embarrassed, well more embarrassed from Lui's little hope dream, but now she had no more pride

"Well go ahead and tell him, you already have our attention." Yusuke announced loudly.

Holding the last of her dignity in place, Kagome grabbed the front of Lui's shirt and stepped closely to him as she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.

While she did this, she missed everybody's faces straining to hear. From Lui's ecstatic expression, they assumed he was getting something good. But they could wait, Hiei would tell them later.

"So what are you two up to?" Kuwabara asked after Lui finished having his giddy fit and Kagome had stopped glaring at Hiei.

"Just a little bet, and if I win he calls his fa her for the other half of the relic." Kagome answered for him with a smile.

"But she's not, so I'm going to get a naked lap dance." Lui added with a sexy wiggle of pelvis.

"No fair!" Yusuke yelled in outrage, while Kagome denied it vehemently.

"Leave me and my fantasies alone!" he yelled sadly before slumping onto the floor.

"What's the bet about?" Kurama asked her curiously.

"After waking up this morning and finding him hovering over me…" here she cast a glance at the somber Lui, "I bet him that he couldn't behave himself for a whole week. That means no creepiness, no overreacting, no randomness, no rants about his father, no acts of vandalism to my underwear draw, and no perversion."

"Then where's the fun?" Lui mumbled to himself.

"And his part is to…"

"I have to get her to fall in love with me…" Lui interrupted as he slowly got to his feet, stern resolve evident in his face, and not having far to go, crowded Kagome into the wall while looking longingly into her eyes and dropping his voice to a low, heated whisper,

"So I have this in the bag, because I'm a very intimate, sensual, romantic being with a big, huge, enormous, throbbing…mind filled with tons of ways to please a woman."

"Why don't you brush your teeth first?" she replied after a pause, turning her head away and flinching.

"Don't act like you didn't feel it." Lui whispered huskily.

"How could I miss it? It's melting my eyebrows." She answered him smoothly, keeping her face stoic as he backed off with a knowing look. Winking at her once, he slowly trekked up the stairs.

Once he was out of sight, Kagome let out a deep breath and wiped her face. "I need some water." She told them hurriedly before hopping off to the kitchen, but as she was passing by, Yusuke smiled broadly and opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to the punch. "Kiss my ass Yusuke."

When she was gone and they were alone, Kurama stole a glance at Hiei, but the fire demon was already looking at him.

* * *

"So you're really going to go through with this?" Yusuke asked.

"Yep." Kagome answered without turning her attention away from the relic holder in her hands.

"Are you confident you're going to win?" Kurama asked.

"I'm pretty sure I will," and turning towards him she gave him a poignant smile, "It should be pretty hard to get me to fall in love again. Besides, I'm used to them all now. Suave-talking, perverts, regal, boisterous, obsessive, oblivious, cute and sensitive. I've met them all, and I'm not affected by that anymore."

"You live a sad, little, miserable life, girl." Hiei spoke up as he suddenly appeared.

"You live a sad, little, miserable body, _ass_!" Kagome retorted. Finally taking her attention away from the old rock in her hand.

With the bet underway, Kagome and the rest decided to focus on the other relics and get them secured. They had met in the backyard and were waiting for Kagome to get a reading on an active relic so they could get a move on it, they all wanted to get the mission over with and be done with each other.

To be honest with herself, Kagome was anxious about the bet. Ever since it was made, Lui had been keeping his side up. He had been acting normal. He wasn't hovering over her, she didn't hear him breathe hard when she was near, and he was kind of ignoring her. She was getting pissed off.

What? Wasn't she his obsession anymore? She missed the attention. Even if she was creeped out by it, but once it was gone, she realized she liked it. She liked having a guy fret over her again, over her and no one else. She actually felt pretty around him. She felt special, he actually used her name. He looked at her like she was his world. She thought her situation over in her head. Yes, her heart had been broken, and she had been used. She had been betrayed and treated like crap. She was a damaged package. But maybe Lui would be the one who healed her. Sure, he looked young, but he was much older than her. So, what if he actually made her fall in love with him, and he wouldn't call his father for the other half of the relic? They'd have to get it another way. She was sure they'd get it one way or another, so why'd she even make the bet? To get a bit of normalcy back in the house, or to put herself in position for new possibilities. Maybe she wanted Lui to succeed in the bet and make her fall in love with him.

She frowned in aggravation.

To do that he was going to at least have to try something.

"You know what?" Kagome sighed putting the relic away and gaining the attention of her companions. "I think I need a hug."

She wasn't sure who that little statement affected. She did know that she heard more than one pair of legs move, and maybe they didn't walk towards her, but she was sure she heard feet falter before Yusuke crushed her face against his chest.

"Well this is awkward." came Kagome's muffled words after a second had passed.

"Hey, you asked for a hug." Yusuke replied with a laugh as he let up on her, but didn't release her.

"A hug, not an ambushing. Here, let me get right first." freeing her arms from her sides, Kagome righted herself before throwing herself into Yusuke's embrace, successfully circling her arms around his neck.

"Better now?" Yusuke asked her as he tightened his arms around her again.

'_Not really.' _she wanted to say, feeling an emptiness from the hug he was giving her. "Tighter."

"Okay." he obliged her by tightening his hold.

She felt like crying. She still didn't feel anything. She hadn't even realized she wanted to feel something until Yusuke's empty hug. She didn't even know what she _wanted _to feel.

"I'm such a train wreck." She muttered bitterly.

"What you say?" Yusuke asked her, his voice sounding dazed and dreamy.

"Well at least you're getting something out of this." She laughed, struggling her way out of his grasp.

"That was pathetic." Hiei told her with bleak intuition.

"Why? _Why_…do you only speak to anger and provoke? Do you…do you want to get slapped?"

He actually smiled at her and she gasped in shock.

"Never…ever…smile again…you freak minded mutant."

His smile was replaced with a sneer.

"That's better, now keep it that way. I don't want to have to tell you again."

"Kagome, look!" Yusuke suddenly exclaimed pointing towards Lui accusingly. "He's breaking his end of the bet."

"What are you, _four_?" Lui asked with a scowl on his face.

"Sometimes. But I'm also bored and in need of a distraction."

"What did he do?" Kagome asked the child-like spirit detective.

"He was giving me the eye for hugging you."

The look Lui gave Yusuke was the reverse of the boy's personality. The look was dark and imposing, and the voice he used was the epitome of cold. "The guidelines were for me to behave myself…with her. There was nothing said about facial expressions, or tone of voice, nor were there limitations on what she doesn't know…or will ever find out about. I _am _my father's son, no doubt."

"Well that was weird." Kagome muttered turning her back on them. "Ready to move out?"

"What? Don't you think that was creepy and overreacting?" Yusuke yelled in his own outrage, pointing at the steadily, and scarily, staring Lui, his all seeing eye in full effect.

"Nope, just weird. But you're all weird and I can't fault him for that."

"Ah, you're just saying that because you like him." he grumbled.

Kagome turned to look at him sharply, but the look she gave him was pure innocence. "But Yusuke, despite my better judgment, I like all of you."

"Most of the time." she added flatly before turning her back on him again. "Now let's go get a car."

* * *

"Are you sure he said we could borrow his car?" Kuwabara asked again, as he and the others stood outside DD"s apartment building.

"Yeah, of course." Kagome answered him as she closed her phone. Looking up and down the street she finally pointed in victory. "There. The green convertible."

"Convertible? Nice." Kuwabara said approvingly as they began the trek towards their transportation.

As they group began to move off, Kagome gently tugged on the back of Kurama's shirt and signaled for him to hold back. As they began to gain distance, Hei was the only one to look back, and as Kagome waved him off, he scowled but never stopped walking.

"There something you wanted to say, Kagome?" Kurama asked once they were out of hearing distance.

"I need a favor, actually." Kagome answered, smiling sweetly as she latched onto his arm and began walking again.

"A favor from _me_?"

"Yes, you. I feel, you are most…qualified."

"Qualified? For what, I ask."

"Umm…just making Lui jealous, that's all? I figured you would do the job without taking advantage of me or," and here she smiled. "…without being an ass."

"I can see your point." Kurama told her with a small smile of his own.

"Besides, I know you want take this out of context."

"Take it out of context?" Kurama repeated with a small amount of confusion.

"Yeah, you know, because…"

"What the hell is this?"

The two were taken from their conversation by Yusuke's question. She could understand the faces they were throwing their way, with her and Kurama showing up in an intimate embrace, well it was bound to raise a few questions.

"Well, what are you looking at?" Kagome asked cattily, ignoring how Lui, in the driver's seat, was looking straight ahead. "Can't a girl have an escort in this day and time?"

"It seems we have a bit of a problem here." Kurama spoke up, looking at the car and it's occupants. It wasn't long before Kagome also noticed the problem.

With Lui in the driver seat, Kuwabara on the passenger side, and Yusuke and Hiei in the back, it left only one seat remaining while two people stood on the outside waiting.

"Uh-oh, looks like we're about to get to know each other _real_ well." Yusuke grinned, patting the seat next to him.

"Yeah, me and Kurama are." She huffed, and scowling defiantly, Kagome stuck her nose in the air as she forcefully pushed Kurama into the empty spot. "You're a real perv, Yusuke."

"_I'm _a perv?" Yusuke exclaimed, watching her climb into the back seat and practically straddle Kurama's lap, "What do you think you're doing to poor Kurama?"

Smiling enticingly, Kagome gathered herself up and around Kurama, making the fox lean back with a nervously shocked look to his face. But Kagome wasn't looking at him, she was looking at Yusuke. "I'm getting to know him." she laughed.

And as Lui started the car and gunned the engine, they took off, causing Kagome and Kurama into an even closer acquaintance.

* * *

Kagome's plan to force Lui into a fit of jealously was a dud. She was bored, Kurama was a petrified stump under her, and she felt too bad to try to do anything. Besides, she didn't have time to make Lui jealous, when she spent the whole ride talking to Lui and giving him directions.

"Which way to turn?" Lui asked as they came to an intersection.

After leaning over his shoulder to see the road, Kagome, who was oblivious to the discomfort she was causing Kurama by bending over in his lap, finally told him to take the next left he came to.

"Which one?"

"The next one."

"But there are two lefts coming up, which on do you want me to take?"

"It doesn't matter, we just need to turn left. Look, do you want me to drive?"

"No!" Came the vehement reply from the guys in the car.

"You assholes! I can drive!" She shouted angrily as she flopped back in the seat, which happened to be Kurama who politely held his grunt in.

"It's not that we don't think you can't drive." Kurama began.

"It's just that we are not completely fond of each other. And if you were to take over the driving…then that would leave one of us without a seat."

"Oh. You sure, It would be a lot less of a hassle for me."

"Nobody cares." Yusuke told her blandly.

"Nobody cares, my ass!"

"I care about your ass."

"Shove it, Urameshi!"

* * *

They soon left the city behind and were traveling down a well worn path in a wooded area.

"Uh oh!" Lui spoke up, making Kagome jump out of her stupor.

"What now?" she asked, sitting up straight as Lui pulled over to the side of the road. "Why are we stopping?"

"There's a fork in the road."

"Oh, okay." Kagome as she and the other clamored from the car and stretched their legs.

Going to stand at the point where the path split in two, Kagome threw her senses in both directions, trying to gauge from which direction the next relic would be. She stood perfectly still, afraid that taking a single breath would break her concentration. Five minutes went by.

"Would you get out of here?" Kagome snapped at the bird that had landed on her shoulder.

Watching the bird fly off, Kagome turned back to face her companions, who were lazing around the car waiting on her.

"So?" Kuwabara asked after a seconds pause.

"So what?" she asked.

"Which way do we take?"

"Hell if I know." she answered with a frown and a shrug.

"What do you mean?" Hiei asked with his narrowed gaze.

"I sense the thing…going that way." Facing the paths again, Kagome pointed down the middle.

"That's no help! What do you mean it's _that way_?" Yusuke snapped, mimicking Kagome's gesture.

"It means, you need to settle down before I get rough with you."

Yusuke snorted.

"And the thing is down one of those roads, I just don't know which. Idgit."

"You want to get smacked? Quit calling me words I don't know! What does that even mean?"

"It means you're an idiot, you idiot."

While the two were arguing, Kurama and Hiei shared a moment.

Turning towards his smaller companion, Kurama visibly held in a sigh. "Hiei." He said silently. And knowing what he was thinking, the fire apparition sped off down one of the paths.

Seeing the short man disappear, Kagome and Yusuke stopped arguing.

Within a minute, he was back.

"This one just keeps on going." was his brief report before he took off down the remaining road.

A breeze blew by and Kagome and Yusuke, under a momentary truce, settled side-by-side against the hood of the car. They didn't have to wait long before Hiei was back.

"This one's the same. It just keeps straight."

"Well shoot. That was a waste of time." Kagome pouted.

"Why don't we just start down one, and if the feel of the relic gets weaker, we'll know we took the wrong one and just turn around." Lui, who had sidled up next to Kagome, finally offered.

"Hmm. I guess we can do that. Good thinking." shrugging off concern, Kagome stood up to get back into the car.

"One of them comes full circle and you'll just end up back here in a few days."

Halting in their tracks, Kagome and the gang turned back around only to find two young men standing at the foot of the paths. They were twins. Each tall and lanky with buzzed cut short red-brown hair on their heads. Kagome thought they were beautiful.

"Both paths are long, and one comes right back to this spot." One of the twins said, as the other pantomimed.

"Do you know which is which?" Yusuke asked.

"No." the man answered with a mischievous smile, and then swung and hit his silent twin in the chest. "But he does."

"Can he tell us?" Kurama asked, bringing his ability to talk or not into play.

"He can't, but I can."

"So what's the point of talking to you?" Kuwabara inquired.

"He can let me know and then I can tell you."

"Well then…"

"For a price."

"And what price would that be?" Hiei asked into the deathly silence that followed.

"A kiss…from her." Although one of the twins spoke, both pointed at her.

A pause issued after the announcement.

"Was that a pause? Are you guys thinking about it? NO! I am not whoring myself just to ask some weirdoes a question!" Highly offended, Kagome spun on her heel and began to stomp angrily to the car, roughly pushing her companions out of the way.

"But you promised, Kagome."

Stopping in her tracks, Kagome turned to stare aghast at the twins, who were looking mighty smug.

Seeing that he had her attention, the man continued. "You already kissed this bitch here," The man argued, backhanding his brother so violently that the man spun in place before collapsing to the ground. "And you promised me that you'd see me in 500 or so years and give me one. So get to giving."

"Want me to kill them, Kagome?" Lui asked gallantly.

"Isn't your father looking for you?" The man snapped, ignoring his brother by his side who was struggling to get to his feet.

Lui was quelled into an angry silence at the mention of his father, yet he still stood protectively by Kagome's side.

"What do you mean, 500 years?" Kagome asked, suspiciously.

"You met us a few centuries back, and under some necessary conditions, you kissed my brother here." Turning to face his brother, the man seemed surprised to find him on the ground. Hauling him up by the scruff of his shirt, the man pointed at him in anoyed frustration before tossing him behind him like used tissue. "And then you promised that you'd kiss me later."

"How do you know it was me? I'm not a demon, I can't live that long."

"We're no demons either, so there. Now how about my kiss?"

"I can render him useless, for you." Hiei suddenly offered, with a hand on his sword, and making meaningful eye contact with Kagome.

"Little cock-block, don't make me eat you. And I have proof she promised me."

"Let me see it." Kagome demanded immediately.

"Fine." the man said before he began digging in his pocket. Not a second later, he produced a very old and battered looking digital camera.

"Hah! They didn't have camera's 500 years ago! So how do you have proof of me making a promise if that thing didn't exist! Hah! Beat that!"

"I didn't know what it was back then. I thought you were crazy. You're the one that gave it to _us_, you time traveling devil. Now come here and take witness of your promising." After pushing a few buttons the man turned the camera around and showed her the moving pictures.

Glaring suspiciously, Kagome inched closer, looked down at the camera, and then stood in a shocked stupor.

It was her, a dirty version of her, but it was her.

"Huh?" she asked dumbly, taking the camera from the man so she could watch the small video again.

"…okay? I, Kagome Higurashi, of sound mind and body, promise to kiss Wryth, 500 or so years from now when I meet him at the path in the road." The Kagome in the camera said, swatting at the butterflies swarming around her head. In the background, she could also see the twins looking curiously over her shoulder. "And yes it's actually you, and you're actually in the past again, and you're actually promising to whore yourself to a complete stranger. So trust Wryth and kiss him, he's waited this long, I think he deserves it. You'll…" the Kagome on the camera stopped talking and seemed to blush fiercely, "…yeah, anyway, just do it. Oh, and watch out for the gerbil." the video then shut off.

"You're Wryth?" Kagome asked, handing him back the camera.

"Yeah that's me, and that's my brother Sonet. Keep the camera, it's yours anyway, and now that you see you promised, I don't need it anymore." Wryth was now looking smug and expectant.

Kagome looked at the twins uncertainly, and then turned back to face her cohorts. They shrugged, while Lui looked off to the side with a grimace. "Okay." she said resignedly, "I did promise."

"Don't worry." Wryth whispered huskily, stepping up to her side before she could even register his movements. "You'll enjoy it."

Throwing a hand around her waist, Wryth dipped her into an intimate hug that could only be seen on the cover of a romance novel, and kissed her.

Kagome wasn't sure if it was his touch, his kiss, or just the man himself that made her soul scream in ecstasy. His kiss seemed to push everything important to the back of her mind. She found she didn't care about anything except his mouth on hers and where he touched her. She could taste him. She felt melded to him, she wanted to take him home to meet her mother.

She wasn't sure when her leg had snaked around his waist, all she knew was that it felt like it belonged there. She wanted to get closer to him. She wanted to explore him. She loved the feel of his shaved head under her hand. The soft bristles of his hair sent tingles down her hand. And his back was so broad. And…what a firm buttock he had.

"Ahem!"

The noise was like glass breaking, and Kagome found, as she came to, that Wryth had abandoned her mouth and was slowly working on her collar bone. Breathing heavily, she stared wide eyed at her surroundings, and found the guys staring at her with annoyed frowns. But it had been neither of them that had interrupted the best moment of her life. It had been Sonet.

"Listen you little, jealous bitch, don't…" But what Wrytth was going to say was lost to those around as the branch connected with his knee and sent him crashing to the grounded with injury. And as he fell, he released his hold on Kagome.

"Come on Kagome. The quiet one already showed us the right road to take." Lui commanded her as he threw a protective hand under her elbow and tried to guide her to the car.

"I don't wanna." She whined, as she fought against his hold. She just wanted to stay with Wryth, even if his brother _was _beating him into a coma. He'd wake up someday.

"But you have a job to do," Lui urged as he hoisted her onto his shoulder. "…and you're going to fall in love with me, _not _an endangered species."

"But he's perfect." she whined sadly as she was tossed into the back seat, where Kurama was sitting and waiting to restrain her, as Lui hopped into the driver's seat.

"Well until you finish with us you're going to have to deal with less than perfect." Yusuke, now in the passenger seat, said grumpily as Lui started the car and drove off, taking the road to the right.

And as they passed by, Sonet stopped his attack long enough to smile and wave at them.

"I'll be back!" she declared launching herself over Kurama's shoulder.

Sonet only nodded to humor her and gave her a look of mischief, lust, and secrecy.

* * *

A half hour had gone by since they had left the fork in the road. So far they had yet to come to a single turn. The road kept going on and on. The same scenery for miles. Dirt road traveling in the midst of the woods.

"Oh no!" Kagome suddenly yelled, startling the boys.

"What? What is it?" Kuwabara asked urgently.

"I left my camera! We have to go back!"

"Weak!" Yusuke declared before showing her the battered camera. "Sorry, but we have your camera right here."

As he tossed it over his head at her, Kagome moodily ducked out of the way, letting it almost hit Kurama.

"But you don't understand…" she persisted.

"What!" Yusuke snapped turning around to face her. "What don't we understand?"

Instead of answering, Kagome just blushed and sat back quietly.

"You sicken me."

"_Your face!_ Turn around!"

* * *

They traveled some more.

"That Kiss!" Kagome exclaimed again, putting capital letters into the word. "You know Kurama, I don't remember having sex with you but I'm pretty sure that Kiss was way better."

"What!" Lui exclaimed, slamming on the breaks, and sending Hiei soaring, as his face reddened in anger and he turned to yell at Kurama, who would rather be anywhere else. His manhood had just been thrown in his face, now a scrawny man-child was berating him about deflowering his '_woman_', and Hiei, who now stood on the hood, was glowering at him.

"You sicken me." Yusuke added from the front seat, staring at the kitsune with annoyed spite.

"I do have that effect on some people." he replied with a sullen sigh as Kagome abandoned his lap to get out of the car.

"What is wrong with all of you? You're all acting weird." Kuwabara demanded, as he hopped out of the car angrily.

_"…just do it. Oh, and watch out for the gerbil."_

As the recording went off again, Kagome shook off her addiction to Wryth long enough to wonder. "What the hell is going to happen to me with a gerbil?"

"Well don't look at me!" Lui told her, long since ceased yelling at Kurama, since he couldn't get him to rise back. It got boring, and he started to feel silly.

"Hey, do you guys smell something?" Kuwabara asked suddenly, sniffing around with a look of disgust on his face.

"Don't look at me for that either!"

"No, he's right, something reeks!" Holding her hand over her nose, Kagome fought down convulsions as the smell worsened.

"Urameshi! What did you do?" Kuwabara accused as he coughed and gagged off the offending stench.

"Wasn't me, you big oaf! It's probably Hiei!"

"Oh God, I hope not!" Kagome exclaimed sorrowfully. "That means we'd have to kill him and put him out of his misery, because he's beyond help!"

"Like you'd care." The fire apparition retorted in his silently threatening voice.

"MY EYES!" Lui screamed as he rubbed viciously at his watering eyes.

"Shh!" Kuwabara suddenly said urgently. "You guys hear that?"

As the group hushed, they heard it. Something was moving through the brush. Something big with an obvious bathing issue. Looking to where the sound was coming from, they saw the trees tremble as it moved. Closer and closer to them. And the closer it came, the more horrendous the smell became, until finally it was unbearable, but by that time…

It had arrived. Standing at over 12 feet tall, stubby legs, sharp fangs, two heads, four, onyx eyes for each, a stump of a tail, mangy, blood splattered fur, deadly claws, and the cutest most adorable face anyone had ever seen.

Satan's gerbil.

It hadn't seem them yet, it stood on the dirt path and paused to shake the foliage out of it's fur. And as it did so, Kagome had to grab onto Lui's arm to keep from keeling over. At her falter, one of the gerbil's head turned in her direction, followed a few seconds after by the second.

Ever hear a gerbil snarl? The scariest sound in the world.

"Quick! Nobody move!" Kagome whispered out of the corner of her mouth, and checking to see if to see if they listened, took off running and left them behind.

* * *

Needless to say, they caught up with her. And after a tremendous battle and lots of running away, a bit of nostalgia on Kagome's part when Wryth crossed her mind, they had finally succeeded in ridding themselves of the gerbil.

They hid in a tree for the night, and watched as the gerbil destroyed and ate DD's car.

The first thought that came to Kagome's mind was that she was comfortable, and as she awoke, she, for the life of her, couldn't understand why. Not when she was high in a tree, sandwiched in between Hiei and Lui. She was sort of lying on Hiei, and Lui was snuggled up close with his arms tightly around her. She should have felt awkward, uncomfortable, and had aching bones. Instead, she was reluctant to move. That is, until she felt a relic, and it wasn't in Lui's pocket.

"Okay, time to get up." She spoke aloud as she sat up, waking those around her.

"What? What's up?" Lui asked groggily, as he sat up with her still in his arms, and a hand on each breast.

"Knock it off, it's too early for that crap!" Kagome snapped, fully coming out of the comfort they had formed for her, as she elbowed Lui in the side and effectively knocking him out of the tree.

"Took you long enough." Hiei berated her. "The boy's been at it for a while."

"And how long have you been woke?" She asked, annoyed that Hiei might have known she had been cuddling with him.

Instead of an answer, Hiei merely looked at her and smirked.

"Well at least you didn't smile." She muttered, turning her head to hide her face, and witnessed as everyone shook off the last of sleep and leapt from the tree.

"Well good morning to you jerks, too." she mumbled as they left her in the tree.

Swinging her legs over the side. Kagome leapt and hoped for a smooth landing. But instead she landed into the steady arms of the waiting Lui. Preparing to fight off his advances or smack him for a wise-crack, Kagome was surprised when he merely stood her on her feet and kept his hands to himself.

"Thanks." she said uncertainly. And he only inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"Well it seems like we're hoofing it from here." Yusuke stated mid-yawn as he stretched. "So which way, Kagome?"

"Hmm," Kagome thought aloud as she turned around on the spot, trying the judge from where she felt the relic. It was close, that was for sure.

She walked a few feet, turned and started back towards them, and stopped halfway there.

"No." she breathed out as she bent over into the bushes. "It can't be this easy."

And it wasn't.

As soon as she reemerged with the relic in hand. Kagome was suddenly sling-shot into the air and out of sight. The last words they heard were, "I blame Hiei!"

* * *


	11. Chp 11 Life is an Old Man's Plaything

A/N: Short chapter, but I wanted to update and you would have never gotten one if I ended this chapter where I wanted to. Considering re-writing the earlier chapters, nothing drastic should change but if it does…I might or might not tell you.

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* * *

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**Chp. 11 Life is an Old Man's Plaything**

She was cold.

She knew that in the back of her mind. Considering that she was now naked and had just traveled through knee deep snow. But she couldn't make herself comprehend the fact. Not when she was too busy staring at her bizarre reflection in the ice, and having it stare back.

After being shot into the air by the trap surrounding the relic, Kagome had landed on the snowy cap of a nearby mountain. But that wasn't the good part. No the good part happened when she had finally gotten her bearings and starting walking, intent on climbing down to the browner, and warmer, part of the mountain. And after roving only a few feet, she had been lucky enough to find the hole underneath the snow. The hole that lead to the equally cold cave, which held the impossibly dark and foreboding pool.

The shock of falling into the pool had made her mistake the painstakingly cold water for scorching heat. She gasped aloud as she plunged under, the icy water invading her mouth and nose as she did so. The water gave her an unpleasant rush, seeming to fill her head up to her brain. Her foot got caught in a current and she was almost pulled under, but at the last minute her hand caught the edge of the pool and she forcefully pulled herself free of the current, and within a few minutes she was free of the pool and coughing up the accursed water.

"Lucky you got out when you did. Or else that beast would have eaten more than just your clothing."

The next few things went on in such a rush that Kagome wasn't really sure which had happened first. The man was just suddenly there, squatting not even a foot away from her, prodding a stick into the water. She screamed at his appearance, she looked down and screamed at her disintegrating clothing, and hopped up and out of the man's sight.

But the man paid her no mind as he continued to swirl the water, he hadn't even looked at her once. But as he pulled the stick from the water, he turned towards her and smiled, but his smile was anything but comforting, yet there was no malice or perversion in it.

The man was old. She'd put him in his late sixties. His white, shaggy hair contrasted greatly with his copper colored skin. He was broad-shouldered and if he stood, she'd guess he'd stand about over six feet. His face, besides holding great, big, bushy sideburns, was wrinkled, and she could see his laugh lines from where she stood. He didn't look threatening, she didn't sense anything demonic about him, but his sudden appearance and nonchalant stance told her that he wasn't human either.

"See," the man said, as he stood and took a step towards her.

Kagome struggled with trying to ward off the man's advances and keeping herself covered. In the end all she did was do a little dance and shiver uncontrollably.

But the man ignored her aggression and her nakedness as he showed her the stick…or what was left of it. She watched as the stick shriveled up and disintegrated before her eyes.

"It's cursed water." the man continued with a shrug and a smile, as he tossed the stick over his head. "It's not a good idea to go swimming in it. Or drink it for that matter, yet you did both."

He had bright eyes, she saw, and his teeth were slightly crooked, but his bright eyes were what got her attention. Dangerously bright eyes.

"Well I wasn't swimming." Kagome managed to snap through her chattering teeth. "I fell in."

"Be that as it may," he smiled as he shucked off his coat and threw it to her. "You go in that water, you are bound to get messed up, make it out or not."

"Tell me about it." Kagome muttered as she hastily fastened the large coat around her. It seemed to work magic on her freezing body. Although her hands and feet were still bare, and she was wet, the coat seemed to warm her to the bone.

The man chuckled to himself.

"Who are you?" Kagome found herself asking once feeling came back to her limbs.

The man, who had begun wandering around the cavern as she was dressing, now turned to her, his smile forever in place, and bowed.

"The name's Uncle Cyrus."

"_Uncle _Cyrus?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes, Uncle Cyrus."

"Well, _Uncle_ Cyrus, do you know how to get out of here?"

"Why, of course." he answered with a flourish as he came to stand by her, brandishing his arm out for her. He stood stock still and didn't budge until she had accepted it. He paid her reluctance no mind.

"That's why I'm here." He continued as he began to lead her around.

"What?" she asked with some confusion, his words sending chills down her spine. She tried to stop walking and let go of his arm, but found she couldn't. He seemed to have control over her legs, and his grip, though not painful, was iron hard. He led her through a tunnel she hadn't noticed. The walls were nothing but ice, she looked ahead but all she saw was darkness.

"I'm here to show you the way out." Uncle Cyrus continued, seemingly oblivious to her distress.

"Why? How'd you know I would be here?"

"Because you would have died without my help, and you are far too precious to lose now."

"What do you mean I'm precious?" Kagome asked him, her nerves getting frazzled as a feeling of dread and panic started to creep up on her. "What do you mean by that? Who are you?"

"I'm Uncle Cyrus." he countered with a smile as he stopped to look down at her with his discomforting smile.

Kagome felt that bright eyed stare of his put an ease to her worries, and that was even worse. She saw now, up-close, that one pupil was bigger than the other and that they were iridescent.

"_What_ are you?" she asked quietly.

Uncle Cyrus laughed at this as he resumed their walk. "Now that's the question."

Kagome flinched at his laughter, as if it was a physical entity.

"Now let's see; _what am I_? I'm…a being." he answered slowly, considering his words before speaking them. "I'm old…_very _old. I'm an artist. _I _like to think so. I'm also a storyteller. I'm a conductor of events. I'm…the harbinger of happenings. The begetter of great things."

"What kind of '_great' _things?"

But Uncle Cyrus only laughed.

Oh she didn't like this. She had a bad feeling about this man. She turned her head and cast a look around, trying to find something that might help her. By now the tunnel behind them held the same ambiguous darkness as did the front, she didn't know how they were able to see at all. But wherever they walked, they were able to see, if only just part of the tunnel in their vicinity.

As she looked around, her eye caught sight of a smooth section in the wall, and as they passed in front of it, her breath caught in her throat when she saw her reflection. Or what should have been her reflection. She was a monster.

Her skin was pallid; her eyes looked sunken and held dark rings around them. Her hair, filthy and unkempt, fell into strings over her face. She seemed to manage to stand erect and slumped at the same time. Her clothes, also filthy, were in tatters. But like Uncle Cyrus, her eyes were really the most striking thing about her. They were maddened, insane, deprived of a right mind. Yet she could also see loneliness, despair, anguish, and a void. So many emotions in just one glance, for that was all she could manage. The sight of the eyes would have driven her mad with fear if she had looked any longer. Contact with those eyes was like a physical blow to the soul. They seared you with just a look.

As she stared in horror and fear at her reflection, Kagome took a step back and almost behind Uncle Cyrus, as her reflection smiled, a smile full of malice and psychosis.

"What are you staring at?" the reflection asked in her voice as her face turned ugly with rage. "Don't you look at me! DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

The Kagome in the reflection raged and rampaged, beating against the glass in a fury and with no regard for her own safety as her hands, and sometimes her head, began to leave bloody marks on the glass.

"What…what is that?"

"I thought that was obvious." Uncle Cyrus answered cheerfully. "That's you."

"No…that, no….no, how can that be me? I…I'm not like that. I'm not evil."

The Kagome in the mirror burst into ghastly laughter. "Evil?" she laughed. "Silly, silly, _stupid_ reflection! Evil is beyond me! I'm not evil…and evil could never be me!"

Kagome flinched as Uncle Cyrus joined in with the laughter.

"If you're not evil, then what are you?" Kagome asked forcefully, trying to be heard over the distorted laughter.

Uncle Cyrus stopped laughing and a second later, so did her reflection. "I'm unjustly punished."

"Punished? What for? What's going to happen? What did you do?"

"It's already happened, and I tried to undo it…that's why I'm punished." The reflection's face seemed to darken in pain as she recalled painful memories.

"What going to happen to me?" Kagome cried in sudden panic as she gripped Uncle Cyrus by his shirt.

"We were stupid!" the Kagome in the mirror spat out with a bitter laugh. "But everything had happened so quickly and we were irrational." she fell into abrupt laughter as her maddened eyes swirled around in her head and she seemed to sway. "If he had only let me DIE!"

Kagome released her hold on Uncle Cyrus, who, with a wide grin watched as she approached the glass. "What the hell are you talking about? Who should have let us die?"

But the reflection barely seemed to hear her as she drowned in her dark memories. "Should have known better." She muttered with a twisted smile void of humor. "You knew Inuyasha would never hurt us."

"But I heard him! Heard them both! He _was _going to…kill me…for her."

"You _know_, Inuyasha would never hurt us!" she screamed before quieting again. "Too rash…should have confronted him."

"He would have killed us!" Kagome insisted, now speaking like her reflection.

"Killed him. Killed him with my bare hands…I killed them all! They're all dead, and I did it!"

"No! Hiei killed Inuyasha! We were going to, but we didn't get the chance! Is this is what would have happened? I would have been punished? By who? Koenma?"

"I didn't know! I DIDN'T KNOW! It was just…my baby!" the reflection threw her arms around herself and seemed to sag to the floor.

"Baby?" Kagome asked in confusion as she knelt down to be eye to eye with her reflection.

"My baby! I thought he took my baby from me! So I killed him! He took my family and I took his life! Should have known better! Inuyasha would never hurt me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"But I hurt him. I hurt Inuyasha, our friends, Kikyo…I killed them. Because I was stupid! Because I reacted too fast."

"What happened?" Kagome asked, getting caught up in her reflection's grief.

"Made a wish on the jewel. Stupid. Didn't purify it. Now I'm punished. Punished to go through it all again. Because I was stupid. And now…now I can't even mourn." Her reflection looked her in the eye and Kagome found she couldn't tear herself away from the frightening sight.

"I can't mourn, and sometimes I don't even care. Do you know what that's like? I have to kill them all over again…I never mourned my child…my friends…my mate….and now I'm all alone with memories that don't mean shit to me!"

Without warning, her reflection's hand came through the mirror and caught her wrist. Kagome tried to pull away but the grip was too strong.

"Listen to me." the reflection said desperately. "Don't be stupid. Think things through. Fix my life. Don't be hasty."

"Get off me!" Kagome screamed as she tried to pry the hand from her wrist. And in her panic she felt her miko blaring.

As the tunnel was blinded by her power, a connection between her and the reflection melded together and she was bombarded with visions and emotions.

"Can you see?"

"Oh…" Kagome wailed at the memories that were hers and yet not.

She felt grief, pity, welcoming, love, and happiness. Then anguish, sorrow, and rage. She was overcome by betrayal, remorse, guilt. Hatred. Then despair and loneliness came. Finally…she knew what true madness was.

"You do see, don't you?" she heard her reflection whisper. "Just because we made a foolish mistake."

Kagome silently nodded as she tried to control her sobs.

"That's nice." the reflection breathed. "You're mourning. Mourning for me…how does it feel? Is it comforting? Fulfilling? Do I even care?"

"That's enough of that." she heard Uncle Cyrus say good naturedly as he bent and, seemingly, effortlessly released her from her reflection's hold.

"Don't be stupid and look before you leap!" her reflection called out as Uncle Cyrus passed through the mirror and began guiding her away.

"Where are you taking her?" Kagome sobbed out after finding out the glass was solid and wouldn't allow her to pass.

"She's not finished with her work." He said as he smiled back at her. "Just like you aren't."

"But what about me? Am I going to do something to end up like that? What am I going to do?"

Uncle Cyrus stopped and turned to face her, but her reflection had gone. "What's the point of letting you know what's going to happen? There's no fun in knowing the unknown. Then it wouldn't be the unknown would it? It would be the known. And if people knew the known unknown, then they would avoid it and I'll have no fun left in the unknown known, which is what I know."

A migraine erupted into Kagome head and she clinched her eyes closed as she tried to void it out.

She found it hard to open her eyes, and when she did, she felt and heard the ice crack.

"What's going on?" she wondered as she sat up, knocking off a thick layer of snow as she did so.

She was freezing, and had no clue as to why she was buried in the snow at the top of a mountain, or why there were frozen tears on her face.

"I don't know why, but I feel as if this is Hiei's fault." she said aloud as she shakily climbed to her feet.

~_____~

"What the hell is that?" Yusuke asked his companions as a bubble floated pass screaming in Kagome's voice.

"Where the hell are you guys? Come find me!" the bubble screamed as it popped.

"She's asking where _we _are?" Kuwabara asked, annoyed at the screaming bubble. "We're not the ones who were thrown through the air."

"HELP ME!" another bubble screamed as it floated by over the treetops.

Kurama sighed. "Which way did they come from?"

"Find me you assholes!" a bubble screamed as it came up behind them.

"I guess from over there?" Yusuke offered as he took the lead and began to follow in the direction the bubble came from.

As they followed Yusuke, and were turned around more than once, the group found they were going in the right direction by the frequency in encounters of screaming bubbles.

"I'm sorry!" the bubble sobbed. "If you find me I won't try to poison you guys anymore. I swear."

"Find me, damn it!"

"By 'find me' I mean the guys I was with, not just anybody. If any demons come looking for me, just to let you know….I'll kick your ass."

"Where are you guys? Are you dead? You should have found me by now. You better be dead."

"I'm so bored!"

"BORED!"

"WRYTH!"

"You guys suck!"

"Kurama! I'm hungry and I need you tell me if these mushrooms are good to eat or not."

"I don't feel good."

"Have you seen the gerbil? I think I smell it."

They figured they were going in the right direction because the bubbles became more frequent.

Yet it wasn't until they came across a sullen Kagome that they figured they had been going in the right direction. They came upon her idly blowing her illusory bubbles and muttering to herself.

"I don't like this." they heard her saying. "I really don't like this. It's too quiet, too lonely. I might actually miss them….something must be wrong with me."

Yusuke cleared his throat and she jumped. As she leaped into the air and spun on her heel, she crouched in a defensive stance with a small dagger in hand. Seeing who it was, she tossed the dagger into the woods and leaped happily at the boys. Yet before she could land on anyone and hug them to near death, Lui was suddenly there to develop her into a caring embrace.

"Now that's a hug." she commented from the folds of his arms as they hugged each other in happiness.

"What about when _I _hugged you?" Yusuke asked as she sighed contently.

"Your hug made me feel empty and alone." they heard her say as she rolled her eyes and broke off the hug.

"What the hell took you guys so long?" she asked casting a glance around at them, but they didn't answer and Hiei only raised an eyebrow.

"Such riveting conversations, guys."

"Did you manage to keep a hold onto the relic?" Kuwabara asked, ignoring her statement.

"What does it look like?" she said as she briefly flashed them the relic before placing it back in her sub pocket. "Now can we get out of here?"

"Were you hurt when the trap was sprung?" Kurama asked.

Kagome blinked in surprise at the question then smiled genuinely at him. "Why, thank you for asking, Kurama." the last was directed toward the other boys, who ignored while Hiei stared openly at her with narrowed eyes.

"Well to answer your question. No, I wasn't hurt; I just landed in some nice soft…"

"Well aren't you going to answer the man?" Yusuke interrupted.

"I did!" she snapped before adding '_asshole' _in her head just as Hiei said, "She did."

"What?" Lui voiced in confusion.

"No she didn't." Yusuke snapped back. "All she did was stare at us and call me an asshole."

"That's because you are." she muttered halfheartedly as she looked down in confusion. _'Did I say that out loud?'_

"Yeah, you did." Kuwabara spoke up into the quiet that followed.

"Kagome?" Hiei asked. "Where'd you get your new coat?"

Kagome went cold as she looked down at herself. She didn't know why, but the sight of the coat filled her with a cold fear that had nothing to do with the strangeness of its appearance. It seemed to bring up a memory; an old memory of something horrible. She could feel in coming closer; bright eyes.

"Kagome!"

"I don't want it." she muttered as she hastily, and clumsily, tried to rid herself of the coat. "Get it off me."

"Kagome! What's wrong?" Lui cried desperately as Kagome struggled out of the strange coat.

"I don't know…I don't know, something happened to me."

"Kagome?" Lui demanded as he shook her. "Answer me, say something!"

"I did!" she cried out, but he continued to shake her. Continued to not hear her. "Can't you hear me? Can't anyone hear me?"

'_I can.'_ a voice answered quietly in her head.

'What the hell is going on?' she thought to herself as she stared wide eyed at the fire demon.

"That's what we want to know. Why weren't you saying anything?" Yusuke asked her with an irritated huff.

"Her thoughts and speech have been reversed." Hiei told them what she feared.

"Oh no!" they heard her breathe out in horror as she began to hyperventilate.

"Oh no, oh no!" she repeated as she ignored the comfort Lui was trying to coax into her as he rubbed his back.

"So…let me get this straight." Yusuke began. "Everything she thinks she says out loud, and everything she says she actually thinks in her head."

"Is that correct?" Kurama asked.

"I'm surprised the detective caught on so quickly." Hiei told him.

"What? You guys think I'm stupid or something?"

The boys said nothing and only exchanged looks with each other, while an involuntary "Duh" escaped Kagome's lips.

"How did this happen?" Kurama asked her concernedly. "Can you recall _anything_?"

Kagome was silent a moment but after visibly shaking herself and remembering her condition, she began to speak so that they could hear her.

"No, I just remember waking up in the snow from my fall. But _something_ must have happened; how else did I get that coat?" Then her eyes widened. "The coat! Maybe the coat did this to me!"

"It's possible." Kurama offered unconfidently, as they turned back to face the coat only to find it gone.

"Well damn." Kuwabara stated at the discovery.

"It didn't have a scent." Hiei spoke up.

"Well that's good." Lui muttered.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything?" Hiei questioned her again.

'No.' is what Kagome meant to say but what came out was, "I said no you bastard!"

"Wow!" Kuwabara commented as Yusuke whistled.

"This is going to be entertaining!" the head detective said with a smile before he was dodging the blow Kagome had thrown his way.

"No it's not!" she yelled from the restraining embrace Lui had thrown her into. "These are my private thoughts and I don't need you…"

She broke off there as she was overcome by savage crying. "Why does everything happen to me?" she cried, her subconscious being broadcast for all to hear.


	12. Chp 12 Hungry Eyes

**Chp 12 Hungry Eyes**

* * *

Kagome hated herself. She hated herself for not being able to stop crying, she hated the boys for seeing her so vulnerable, and she hated the fact that the only person who she could openly converse with was Hiei. She cried harder.

With the car being destroyed by the gerbil, the group had to make do with walking. And their journey was a somber and desolate one as they were serenaded by the tears and subconscious mutterings of a miko with bad luck.

Their trek took them past there dilapidated car; pass the fork in the road, down the long stretch of never ending road and into the city. The walk took them hours and it was way into the late night hours that they arrived home.

"Kagome…" Lui said as the dark haired maiden flew up the stairs, but she didn't pay him any mind as she raced to her room and the solitude of her misery.

"Do you know how to fix her?" Hiei asked, looking up at Kurama, who merely shook his head.

"Not without knowing what happened to her." The fox answered back.

"Damn." Yusuke muttered as Kuwabara shook his head in sympathy. "I can't even begin to think about what she going through."

"That's not a surprise." Hiei muttered. "You, can't think?"

"Go to hell, you chicken-legged midget." Yusuke shot back absentmindedly.

* * *

The next few days a less talkative Kagome was around, yet, by not wanting her innermost thoughts broadcast to the world, Kagome opted to singing in her head; which, turned into a singing Kagome.

And a singing Kagome was pretty damn annoying. The only one who seemed to not be openly irritated by Kagome's attempt at keeping her sanity was Lui.

The other boys seemed to always find somewhere else to be when the singing Kagome appeared, all except Lui. He was there to comfort her when she was alone. He was there to provide the lyrics she couldn't remember. And it was with him that she finally laughed aloud. With him, she was getting the hang of her life altering affliction.

"So I need you to fill in the blanks for me," Lui was saying, as he and Kagome enjoyed a movie together. "What you're favorite color?"

"I don't know." she said aloud. "I guess…I like the color purple."

"Come on." Lui goaded her.

"What?" she demanded with a smile.

"Purple? Can't you be a little more specific or even articulate?"

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"No…just bland."

"Bland?"

"Yes, bland? What shade of purple? Come on, you could have even said dark purple, or light purple? Lilac…something."

"Okay…I like all shades of the tint produced from the mixture of crimson and ultramarine. How's that?"

"Beautiful. So you like the color purple."

Kagome punched him the arm and laughed, but she slipped and her laugh was only in her head. Lui thought about letting it go but decided against it and attacked Kagome's ribs with spirit fingers.

Outside the living room three set of eyes stared moodily at the duo.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kuwabara asked as he came down the hall to find Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke forcing the stink eye through a crack in the living room door. However, as he arrived the stink eye became directed at him. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked again as he came over to see what they were looking at.

"Why are you looking like that?" he asked them aggravatingly as an inkling of the truth tried to make itself known to him.

"I always look this way." Hiei answered blandly before disappearing.

"Well yeah, that's true." Kuwabara agreed as he turned to face the other two.

"If I'm not killing something, beating up someone, or in the presence of someone else's misfortune; I'm not smiling and this is the face I wear." Yusuke answered truthfully.

"Right, that ugly is to the bone. BURN! So what about you?"

Kurama, being the last to be questioned made a slight face of frustration that went unseen by Kuwabara.

"I'm….constipated."

"Eww. You're Kurama; you don't lie, so that must be true…and gross."

Feeling a bit ashamed at his answer, Kurama stalked off to think about what he had done, as Yusuke, catching on to the insult thrown his way, attacked Kuwabara from behind.

In the living room, Kagome and Lui stared at each other in confusion. What the hell was going on in the hallway?

"Hey!" Lui suddenly exclaimed, making Kagome jump.

"Hay is for horses." she laughed aloud.

"So I was thinking." he began as he clasped her hands. "Why don't you and I go on a date?"

The smile that had been plaguing Kagome's face fell away. "Are you crazy?" she blurted out.

"Now I don't know if you meant to say that or not, but I'm serious. Go out on a date with me?"'

Kagome kept her mouth shut and looked away.

"Hey." he called out again, trying to gauge her attention.

"I told you, hay is…"

"For horses, yeah, you told me. Listen, I'm not saying you have to say yes, but you don't have to say no either. I just want you to think about it."

She just looked at him.

"You're going to have to let me anyway, because of our bet and all."

"Oh, am I?" she finally voiced as she turned to follow him

"Yes. Because I've been holding up my part," he answered as he circled behind the couch and leaned over it hover close to her face. "And so now it is time for you to hold up your part. I have to make you fall in love with me and you have to let me try."

Not bothering to respond, Kagome turned back towards the TV and crossed her arms and legs in defiance.

"Right." Lui muttered as he straightened up. "So what about tonight?"

"Fine." she answered as she heard him start to leave. "BUT, it'll have to wait until after we come back."

"Back from where?"

* * *

'Where' turned out to be the middle of a wooded area; again. As they trudged along in search of their fourth relic, all was quiet but for the complaints of Yusuke, Lui, and Kuwabara.

"Why the hell is this thing always in the woods?" Yusuke whined. "I'm tired of the woods."

"It hasn't always been in the woods, stupid." Kuwabara shot back.

"My father used to like to hunt me for sport in the woods." Lui muttered darkly to himself. "I hate the woods."

Up at the front of the pack, Kagome could be heard muttering to herself. But whether she meant to say it aloud or in her head was unknown. "What did I do to deserve this?" she muttered lowly. "Was I a bad person in a past life? Was I Hitler's conscious and this is punishment for not doing my job? Is my life some big entertainment for deities to enjoy? First the well and now being kidnapped and forced to hunt antiques with idiots, rapists, and psychos? Why does this happen to me?"

Kurama was put out to find that she still considered him a rapist. He thought they had gotten over this. He sighed at the sound of a fight breaking out behind him. Was she right about them? He mentally shook his head. No. It was a mistake. It hadn't been their fault. His nor hers. Youko had gotten out of control and did what he did best. She had just been another victim, and he a prisoner within his own mind. He was conscious of everything that went on and couldn't do anything about it as Youko trapped, glamoured, and seduced her. Then when they had turned back, he had intended to stop, but he had gotten caught up in the last of Youko's emotions. He was always weak after transformations. Then she had still been glamoured, and the smell of arousal was deep in the air. He couldn't stop, she didn't know how to, and she had looked at him…it had been so hot, she had been so soft, and then she had…

He stumbled into a tree and was jolted out of his thoughts. Embarrassed, he glanced around to see if anyone noticed. The boys were behind him and too busy fighting with one another, Kagome was at the head and muttering to herself, and Hiei…Hiei was entranced at the way Kagome slinked silently through the forest.

Remembering his friend's interest helped to clear his head and he found a small smile grace his face.

'If you don't watch it, the spirit detectives will catch on.'

Kurama could see that his comment had startled the fire demon, and after he cast a glare at him over his shoulder, his attention remained above Kagome's shoulder and wouldn't budge. But he knew he had been found out.

'What do I care about what the idiots think?'

'I was merely stating the obvious. If you put in an effort, she might even take a notice in you that isn't accompanied with an attempt to maim you.'

'What are you trying to say, fox?'

'Try to impress her. Gain her attention.'

'Should I glamour her out of her mind and steal her in the night?'

'Try to defend her.'

Kurama answered, ignoring the intent.

Hiei looked at him over his shoulder and smirked. _'Just what does that woman need defending from?'_

Kurama's lips quirked in humor. _'Maybe another tactic would work.'_

Hiei grew silent and made no further comments. Kurama, used to this, thought nothing of it and tried to ignore the men behind him. Kagome, he saw, had stopped to reorient herself, and without a glance in their direction, she continued on her way. The poison the snake demons had given her seemed to be slowly and steadily changing her. Her reflexes were quicker, her hair had gotten a slight green sheen to it, and she moved silently. Her body was now a constant dance as she moved graceful and fluidly around. Her every movement seemed to lure the eyes, whether that be walking, fighting, or just hand motions. It was a sinuous rhythm that she wasn't even aware of. He was sure he wasn't the only one to notice.

'_Why are you trying to help me?_' Hiei suddenly asked.

It took him a moment to realize what they had been talking about, but before he could answer, Kagome, once again, drew their attention as she grew still and silently crouched down. Glancing at each other, Hiei and Kurama followed suit.

"What the hell are you doing with my woman?" Lui asked as he and the others noticed the scene.

Looking back at their teammates, Hiei and Kurama looked back at each other and then at their closeness to Kagome. Kurama backed up, but Hiei remained in place and looked back to what had made them crouch. Kagome never paid any of them any mind and continued to look ahead.

"What's going on?" Kuwabara asked as they joined them down in the bushes.

"I found the relic." she answered, as she turned to look at them.

"Then what's the problem?" Yusuke asked now.

"It's in that cave." she told him, pointing a little ways up to the cave she had been staring at. And after a little searching, they saw it, covered in moss and vines and blending in with its surroundings.

"Then lets go get it."

"Hell no. I'm not going in that cave of death. I findy, you fetchy."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"It means, I'm not…" but Kagome was silenced as a hot hand covered her mouth. Turning to yell at the hand's offender, Kagome grew silent as Hiei placed a finger to his lips. And as they grew quiet, they became aware of a low thumping noise.

Whump! Whump! Whump!

Whatever it was, it was getting closer, and the thumping was now associated with a trembling in the earth. As a whole, the group grew closer and crouched lower.

Trees began to rustle and they could feel the impacts of the thumps in their very body. It was big, whatever it was. As one, the group, practically on top of each other, began to silently back away from the direction of the rustling trees.

But as IT entered their view, they froze, they barely breathed; they stopped moving so effectively, their very hair and nails stopped growing. All this in an effort to keep the dragon from noticing them.

The dragon was serpentine in anatomy, it scales were teal with enough green to make it blend in with the foliage. The thumping came from its powerful legs as they propelled its slithering body along. Its tail, swished lazily behind it, stripping the bark off trees and beheading bushes.

It made its way to the cave and entered quickly, but just as they thought it wise to move, the dragon stuck its head back out and looked around. As the dragon's head stopped to look in their direction, they thought invisible thoughts. It continued to stare in their direction so long that they began to consider who to throw in its path first when it attacked, but before anyone could be sacrificed, the dragon sneezed and went back inside. They counted the seconds in their head, and when a minute passed, they picked each other up and moved farther away, and away, and away.

* * *

"1...2...3!"

Kurama shifted against the tree.

"1...2...3!"

Kagome sighed.

"1...2...3!"

They glanced at each other in unison. Two hours of sitting in the woods, waiting on a dragon to vacate his cave so they could rob it, did not make for happy campers. Lui, Yusuke, and Kuwabara had resigned themselves to playing rock, paper, scissors to see who would risk their lives to lure the dragon away. Hiei had run away long ago; to keep an eye on the dragon; he had told them.

"1...2...3!"

Suddenly, Kurama began to laugh.

Kagome looked at him and sighed. Getting up to come stand in front of him, she grabbed his hands and helped him stand up while he remained laughing the whole time.

"There, there Kurama." She cooed as she grabbed his head and forced him to lay it down on her shoulder. "We all snap at one point."

Sighing and bringing his fit to a stop, Kurama stood up straight and placed his hands on Kagome's shoulders. "We've wasted so much time. You're the key to our success here."

Kagome smiled sweetly at him as she placed a hand on his cheek. "There's no way in hell I'm being your bait." She told him gently. "You can shove that idea up Hiei's ass."

"Why was my ass brought into this equation?"

Hiei arrived to survey the scene of Kurama and Kagome's intimate embrace with a skeptical eye in Kurama's direction that only he could decipher.

"Someone wants me to be the bait!" she huffed angrily as she stepped away from them and folded her arms defiantly.

"I'm sorry, Kagome." Kurama spoke up. "But you have gotten it wrong?"

"Do I, Kurama?" she snapped at him.

"Yes."

"Do I!"

"Yes?" he confirmed once more with less conviction. "You see, I merely implied that you…"

"Do I?"

"Perhaps, for once, you keep that abysmal, trash spilling, hole in your head, that you call a mouth , shut, and listen to what he has to say."

As Kagome made a move to confront the short demon, Kurama grabbed her arm, ignored Hiei, and forced Kagome to look at him.

"I wouldn't dare consider using you as bait. I was merely thinking of your ability."

"Which one?"

At this they cast her a curious glance, and she had the decency to blush. "Well, its not like I'm a one trick pony."

"Of course not. But I was thinking about your illusions."

"What you got planned, Foxy man?"

"Right." He commented, not looking at all pleased with the name.

Calling over the other members, Kurama relayed his plan to them, and reconstructed it to meet the approval of all involved. As it finally came to fruition, they planned on having Kagome lure the dragon out and away, she and Hiei would then enter the cave, quickly find the relic, and get the hell out.

"Why can't I be the one to go in there with her?" Lui had asked.

"Because you're not fast enough. We need them to get in and get out."

"What are we going to do?" Yusuke voiced with his usual irritation.

"We serve as a distraction incase it returns before they have found the relic."

"I don't really like that."

"Too bad," Hiei interjected, "lets go."

"What the hell could make the dragon leave?" Kagome wondered aloud as they ventured closer to the dragon's lair. "I don't know dragons."

"Dragons are very territorial." Kurama told her, his hand at her back as they hurried along. "So I think having another dragon present on its land will be enough to lure it out and away for a while. With the threat of another on its territory, it should probably search the total of its range to find it. That should give us plenty of time to retrieve the relic and get out."

"Retrieve the relic and get out, right." Kagome breathed out, trying to wrap her mind around the plan. "It's not like I'll be out here with the dragon. That'll be you guys. The dragon's in there, I'm out here, the dragon comes out here, I'll be in there. Yeah."

"There you go," Yusuke chimed in. "Think selfish thoughts."

"Everyone deserves to be selfish every once in a while."

"Is that right?"

"Well I feel that _I_ do."

"Quiet." Hiei hissed as they finally arrived at their destination.

"Alright." Yusuke whispered. "Everyone know what they're doing?"

As he looked to them, they all nodded. This was no time to be themselves.

"Good. Go for it, Kagome."

With all the attention on her, Kagome concentrated on a dragon. She didn't know dragons. Until that day, she hadn't even seen a real one. The only dragon reference she had was of cute, cuddly ones from cartoons. Yet, she tried her hardest for a fierce, dangerous, and terrifying beast that was worthy of combat to a defending rival. She had it, based on what she saw that day, her imagination, and any B movie with dragons, she had produced a most splendid, horrific, and beautiful monster. Too bad no one saw it. She had produced it away, far away, in the depths of the forest. They needed the dragon gone, not simply outside.

Kagome's monster roared, and they knew the general area from which it was manifested by the sudden cries of the birds as they took flight in horror.

The roar had an immediate effect. The dragon exited it's cave so suddenly that they jolted in fright. Kagome had the dragon roar again, and with a snarl their enemy was off in pursuit of its trespasser.

They waited until they could no longer hear it growling before they turned to face one another.

"You two ready?" Yusuke asked, looking at Hiei and then Kagome.

Nodding her head, Kagome turned to look at Hiei and found him already looking at her. "So how are we going to do this?"

His head tilted slightly at her question, and not bothering to answer, he turned his back to her.

"What?" she asked with an obvious hesitation.

He turned his head to look at her, his face fierce and serious. "Don't waste time, girl, get on!"

Not wanting to fall victim to the déjà vu she was experiencing or admit to the reason of her reluctance, Kagome quickly straddled Hiei's back, with her arms encircling his neck, and his hands gripping her thighs.

"Shut up, Fox." Hiei suddenly said after adjusting his passenger into a more comfortable position. But before anyone could question the outburst, they were gone and inside the cave.

In the quiet aftermath, Yusuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Something's…uh, something's going on here and I'm….unsure what."

* * *

"Wow. This shouldn't be too hard." Kagome admitted as she and Hiei surveyed the dragon's lair. "I said that sarcastically by the way."

"Obviously." He commented dryly as he took in the piles upon piles of jewels, gold, and general treasure the dragon had accumulated.

"You can put me down now." She commented after a pause, and as he released her, she was too preoccupied with her raised temperature to notice any hands roaming on her legs as someone set her down. "You've got me all hot, and it may be snake poisoning turning me cold-blooded, but it feels good."

"You can explore my body temperature later," he snapped at her. "Right now you have a job to do."

"What was that?" she halted in her step.

He looked at her with a scowl.

"You are so confusing. Its like everything you say is an innuendo, or you're just trying to start a fight."

He blinked slowly.

Kagome completely forgot about hunting down the relic as her mind began to work things out. "And I know first hand that you're a closeted pervert."

"Are you done?"

"No, no I'm not." She muttered absentmindedly as she continued to analyze. "You…you cut off my clothes when we were sparring."

He made no sign that he recalled the incident. He merely stood there and scowled at her.

"Its like you get off from the violent encounters."

Her eyes widened and her face grew red. "There was no scabbard that night."

He scowled and blinked slowly at her. "What are you going to do about it?" his voice held no animosity, but it came out sounding like a threat.

She bit her lip and avoided eye contact as she tried to control her blush. "I'm, I'm going to go find that relic."

She stalked away from him, her mind set on locating the missing relic, but a burning sensation in the back of her head made her turn around, and as she did so, she locked eyes with a predator.

The gaze ignited her fight-or-flight response, and as her body responded her miko flared up, but with the flare also came a stronger sense of the relic and as she turned her head, she pinned it down with uncanny accuracy.

'Guess perversion has to be good for something.'

She thought, her mind now entirely focused on the pile of treasure furthest back.

She made fast work at burying herself amidst the pile. In her search, she tossed aside beautiful pieces of jewelry, shiny trinkets, and anything King Midas might have touched. She was tempted to keep some for herself, and she thought maybe a few interesting pieces had fallen into her sub-pockets. But that could have been her imagination.

As she caught on to the dragon's style, apparently that of a child who liked anything shiny, she began to wonder why the relic would be here. All the other relics were stone and dingy. Nothing to catch the eye, they didn't even have any jewels to accent them. Just stone colored…stones.

Though she couldn't understand the dragon's want of the drab little relic, it was the bleakness of its appearance that helped her to spot it among the shine.

"Got it!" she yelled triumphantly, but as she reached and lunged for it, she dislodged a major portion of the pile and was soon buried and trapped.

She coughed in the dust cloud that the avalanche produced. Disoriented and bruised, she tried to climb out, but found that she could barely move amidst the clutter. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure which way was up.

"Ugh!" she groaned aloud. "A little help."

She felt the rubble shift and new Hiei had arrived. But he wasn't exactly there to help. He stood on the pile quietly and looked on in amusement at the odd foot sticking out of the heap.

She called out to him again and he smirked to himself.

"Did you call out for me?" he finally asked her.

"What?" she yelled, her foot wriggling in agitation. "Of course I called you! Didn't you hear me?"

"Yes. But you could have been calling for anyone. I did not hear my name."

"Get me out of here!" she whined.

"Ask me."

"What? Get me out of here! This stuff is pushing on me in all the wrong places!"

"Ask me, and I just might help you."

There was a silence that issued after, and though he couldn't see her, he knew that she was angry. Today turned out to be a good day, despite the interference of a nosy fox.

"Can you help me out of here?" the question came out low and strained.

"I didn't hear my name?" he heard her growl at this.

"Hiei," she spat out. "Can you get me out of here? I'm breathing in moldy gold."

"Ask me nicely."

"You bastard! Get me out of here!" as she yelled, she sent out a flare of miko and he had to jump away to avoid getting burned.

If he was the type, he would've laughed, but he wasn't so he didn't. He contented himself by smirking a little more than usual.

"That's not very ladylike." He told her as he ventured closer.

"I'll show you what a lady's like!"

"Will you now?"

She grew quiet at this.

"Are you blushing?"

"No." She lied. "What is this? Are you in heat or something?"

"Are you?"

He clasped her ankle with one hand and dug into the pile with the other until he grabbed hold to something solid. As he grabbed her, she mentally counted to three, but before she could get finished with one, he had tugged and lifted her into the air and into his arms. Bridal style.

In his arms, she looked into his reddened eyes and thought, 'they're not half bad.' He continued to smirk at her.

"I got the relic." She told him unnecessarily as her body began to heat up at his touch.

* * *

"So, that just leaves the other half from your boyfriend's dad, right?" Yusuke asked, counting up the relics in his head.

After a hasty retreat, in Hiei's arms, they rejoined the others and hurriedly began to leave the area. She wasn't really sure why Yusuke took the effort to count when he just could've looked at the holder when she pulled it out. But he was right. The first one had been guarded by water beings, and the boys had handled them. Next time was her turn, but luck had her confronting a giant, fire living, dog demon. She had gotten half on one from Lui, and gained a follower/friend/stalker/lover boy in the mix. They had gotten chased by a gerbil for the last one, and now they had just gotten the 4th 1_/_2 . And no one had to die by dragon to get it.

"Hey." Kagome looked up to see that Lui had decided to walk next to her. Real close to her. Really close.

"Hey." She called back with a wary look.

"You know what this means, right?" he made an obscene gesture with his tongue against his cheek.

"Ew, what?"

"We get to go on that date now."

"Oh. Right." He hadn't forgotten.

His face dropped and he scowled at her. "Don't sound so enthusiastic."

"No. I mean, yeah, you're right. Right." She began to sic herself up. How bad could it be?

"Hey guys." She called out slowly, as she turned to face the others with an uncertain smile. "We're going out…later."

"No. They're not coming. That's an outing, not a date."

"When I said 'we' I meant us. You and I." She explained, using hand motions. "They're going to stay home and make sure I come back."

He looked offended. "What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing. Just…remembering that room and…shivering on the inside."

"I'll make you shiver." He growled, as he drew her in closer to him. "But it'll be for a good reason."

He tickled her and she let out an uncontrolled giggle. "Stop." She growled half heartedly. "You make me sound like a girly girl."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Girly girls don't kick ass, and I do." And then she grew quiet as everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Except, that ass." She wouldn't have bothered to talk, and would have took the smart route and stayed quiet. But she felt there was no need to do so. The dragon was already looking at them. And it didn't seem happy.

"That's a really big ass."


	13. Chp 13 Spiral

**Chp 13. Spiral**

* * *

She couldn't see.

Unsure of whether or not her eyes were closed or open, she tried to call out to somebody, anybody, but she found she couldn't speak. She couldn't yell. She couldn't move.

_'What's going on?'_ she thought, beginning to panic.

It was dark, she couldn't move, and she was alone. The fear was beginning to creep up from her belly. She wanted to move. She wanted to run. She wanted to know what the hell was going on.

She wanted to be frustrated, '_Why does this keep happening to me?_', but the urge to cry was stronger.

'_Why_?'

* * *

They had been unaware of the dragon due to its scales blending in with the foliage. When coming across it, it had been facing the other direction. Unfortunately they weren't a quiet bunch and they had stood too long upon discovering the dragon. This and the fact that Kagome and Hiei smelled of his golden treasure, had the monster truly aware of their presence.

"I'm never walking ahead of you guys, ever again." Kagome told them as they began to slowly, and cautiously, back up.

The dragon was slow and precise in its maneuvering as he turned around to face them. Its horrendous, yellowed eye was the first thing to catch Kagome's attention.

It growled deeply at the sight of them and made no move to come after as they retreated, but the growling became louder and its lip began to quiver.

Kagome wished that Lui would move. His close proximity to her had her stepping on his feet, and she knew if the need to run would present itself, which she knew it would, he would make it hard for her. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, and his hands hovering around her shoulders. She felt claustrophobic and with the dragon staring them down she felt her breath coming out harshly.

"What the hell do we do?" she whispered aloud, but in her distraught, she only said it in her head. But thankfully, Yusuke took up reigns as commander.

"If it charges us, and we have to fight, split up."

"Split up?" Kuwabara sounded out in a loud, fevered whisper. "But what if it just comes after one person?"

"That's why we split up and surround it. Keep it off of one another."

"So we'll each serve as a distraction so the others can attack?" Kurama asked for clarification.

"We'll never kill it." Hiei told them matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well! Just shit on my plan, why don't you?"

The dragon, tired of their slow retreat, shifted and they grew still in anticipation.

"So are we splitting up or what?" Kuwabara asked, speaking through clenched teeth.

The dragon gave no one time to respond before it charged them. And without confirmation, they each jumped off its path of attack and scattered. Kagome had no choice for the direction she chose. Being in the lead, she was first on the dragon's list, and having Lui so close, she hesitated and tried to gauge his decision. But at the feel of her hesitation, Lui took matters into his own hands, and grasping Kagome by the shoulders, he hoisted her into the air and into the nearby brush. As she flew she prayed that she wouldn't hit the ground in an awkward position, but thankfully the bush was there to catch and probe her with its blunt branches.

As she landed, she quickly straightened up enough to see Lui jump safely away. The others, she saw as she stood up, also made it out of the way. Where they went, she wasn't entirely sure, but she did see that the dragon wasn't necessarily sure either, because it stopped in its tracks and began to look and sniff around, and as it looked her way, she quickly ducked behind a tree.

Silence made things awkward. So who was going to run interference first? The question hung unspoken in the air and only silence answered back.

"Aw shit!" accompanying the cursing, Yusuke made his appearance as first distraction. Looking grumpier than usual, Yusuke stepped onto the path behind the dragon and raised his hand up in preparation. "Fine, I'll do it, but you assholes better back me up!"

Kagome smiled at his reluctant heroism. He knew he was going to do it first anyway. Silly boys and they're true nature. Smile still in place, Kagome reached into her sub pockets and produced her bow and arrows. She could have used the set that accumulated from her pure miko, but it was tiring and the glow would give away her position.

The dragon advanced upon Yusuke, who, though looking nervous, was successfully luring the dragon his way. Kagome glanced around but didn't see anyone preparing to move in. From her spot, the dragon's back was to her, she was in perfect position to serve as the next distraction.

She readied her bow and got into position. She needed to get out there and fast. The dragon had picked up his pace and was closing the distance on the spirit detective. But before she could move, Kuwabara was suddenly there and striking the beast across its back with his energy sword.

"Run, Urameshi." He yelled, as he too ran, the dragon now angry and chasing after him.

Kagome would have stepped in then, but he was running towards her, and effectively bringing the dragon in her direction. Luckily for her, Kuwabara kept going past, and she only had to draw back into her hiding place as the dragon kept after him. As it passed, she flinched and held in a scream as it's tail nearly decapitated her in its wake.

With her hiding spot destroyed, Kagome ran out to either save Kuwabara or find another location. As she came out into the open, bow and arrow readied to fire in her arms, she saw that both Hiei and Kurama had jumped to Kuwabara's rescue. Hiei was barely a blur as he savagely attacked the dragon, seemingly, from every angle at once. While Kurama was hindering the dragon's movements with vines that kept trying to tie the angered beast down. The others, she saw, were nowhere to be seen.

'_Now is as good as ever._' She thought to herself as she aimed at the reptile. She felt the familiar power wash through her and she directed it into the arrow at the tip of her fingers. The power built up until she glowed as bright as headlights.

Confident in the strength of the accumulation and her aim, Kagome whistled loudly at the beast, effectively getting its attention, and alerting the boys to get the hell out of the way.

As the dragon looked her way, Hiei and Kurama wasted no time in escaping its notice. Once the dragon saw that its other opponents had escaped, it advanced angrily on Kagome, seemingly unperturbed about the glowing advancing projectile.

Why would it be? It wasn't like it was a demon or anything.

* * *

_'My back itches.'_ Was the thought that went through her head as she came to.

Well she believed she came to. She didn't remember passing out, or going to sleep, but her sense of time passed was off.

Wondering what was going on, she tried to remember what she had been doing before…this.

The itching in her back spread and made it hard to concentrate. At least she could feel it. That meant she wasn't paralyzed. She hoped.

'_This is probably Hiei's fault.'_ She thought with an affirmative, and wholly imaginative, nod of her head.

Hiei. She remembered him. He had been in the way…of something. She pictured Hiei in her head. Concentrated on him, and he smiled at her.

The smile was like a kick to the senses and dread spread though her. He had been in the way of a dragon.

She remembered now. They had been fighting a dragon. They had killed it. Right? She remembered it lying down and covered in blood. They had all pitched in, playing bait for each other and…

She had been useless. Dragons weren't demons. Miko didn't work on them. Dragons had scales. Arrows were shit. And then it had sensed easy prey.

'_Oh.'_ She thought glumly. _'I remember now_.' And then the itching in her back was relieved as it felt as if someone had just ripped the irritated skin away.

* * *

She awoke screaming bloody murder, her entire being focused on the pain in her back. The pain made her buck, and each involuntary movement had her back screaming at her in protest. It hurt to move, but she couldn't lie still because the pain was too great. Damn the conundrums!

She felt hands grab her to hold her down, but she could give a flying flip as to what they were saying. She missed the nothing from which she had come.

"Oh God!" she screamed as her twitching began to lessen. "What's happening?"

The boys let her go once she stopped thrashing and backed away from her. As her crying grew in volume, they looked at one another in discomfort.

"Uh…" Yusuke looked around unsure of what to do.

Kuwabara hit him in the arm. "Try calling again."

"Yeah…right." Turning away from the crying girl on the bed, he focused on possibly getting her help.

"Somebody!" Kagome screamed; her face smothered in the mattress of her bed. "Knock! Me! Out!" her scream was followed by more sobbing.

With her cries beating at his heart, Lui grimaced, but stepped forward to render the mercy blow. Taking a deep breath and readying his stance, Lui delivered a sharp and fierce strike to the top of her head.

"What?" Yusuke growled into the receiver. "How many people can die in an earthquake? I thought it was just a bunch of…oh. Wow, really? Damn. Well I'm sorry."

The sudden intake of breath that Kagome sucked in distracted him, and as he turned to look at her, he saw the red eyed leer of a demon as she glared Lui down.

The look she gave off and the silence that followed seemed to last forever. When in fact, it lasted less than a second.

She growled and yelled and screamed, the pain she felt intensified now by anger. Her screaming was now accompanied by an electric flair of miko, most of it directed at Lui. Everyone backed up in light of the flares. They would have stepped back anyway. Kagome was a sight to behold, and not a good one at that.

Lying on a bed with her open, naked back bleeding, Kagome looked like a raving monster. Her hair was a matted mess, her eyes were ablaze, and through her screaming, she dribbled and spewed spittle. Her back, though she couldn't see it, was a mutilated mess. It had been shredded down the middle, not only had the skin been flayed, but so had some of the muscle. In places, the bone could even be seen; standing out white and stark against the dark of the red and pink.

"Hey! I'm trying to get you a healer and you trying to hurt everybody is not going to help."

The look turned to him then and he made a show of not backing away. The words that came out of her mouth made him flinch though, and he turned away hurriedly to talk on the phone again.

"Okay, you heard that? _Right_! You need to get me in touch with Botan now! Right NOW!" he then looked back at Kagome, who was now calming down, or getting weak, from all the thrashing and screaming. She was losing a lot of blood.

"I didn't even know girls could say that…_and mean it_!"

"I think she's unconscious." Kurama announced.

"I think she tried to kill me." Lui muttered, looking put out. "…again."

"Don't worry about it." Kuwabara said, trying to placate him.

"You just fail as a demon." Hiei added unnecessarily. "Couldn't even render a human unconscious. Disgraceful."

"That's what my father says." Lui now looked ready to cry.

"Botan!" Yusuke yelled as he heard feedback on the communicator. "Quick! What the hell do we do?"

Though not sleep, Kagome definitely wasn't awake and now began to mumble into the air.

"We fought a dragon, that's what, and dragons don't play around!"

"Kagome! He turned her into fillet O girl!"

"Her back! We can see the damn bones in some places!"

Kagome moaned loudly and began to squirm on the bed. Clenching at the sheets on the bed, she whimpered loudly before quieting again.

"About three hours ago! I've been trying to get in touch with you!"

"We don't know! Shouldn't you know any?"

Yusuke's darted a look in Lui's direction. "You! You're from around here! Know of any healers…that can heal humans?"

Lui grimaced. "Not any real ones. No real good ones."

"Damn!" Yusuke went back to his communicator. "So what do…?"

"My dad has one on staff though, but you know how complicated that is."

The room grew silent, even a severely injured girl seemed to quiet at the young demon's statement.

"What?"

"Call your dad, you idiot!" Kuwabara yelled.

"But I can't! He's obsessed with her!"

"She's going to die, asshole!" Yusuke damn near growled. "If your dad can save her, do it!"

"But it's not a good obsession." He whined.

"When is obsession ever a good thing?" Kurama added in.

"But…"

"But my ass!" Yusuke interrupted. "Go! Call your dad over here now! Go!"

Looking distressed and on the verge of a breakdown, Lui groaned and stormed out of the room. "Fine! Don't blame me if he tries to kill everyone though!"

"Right!" Yusuke returned to the communicator, ignoring the whining boy with daddy issues. "So you heard that, we have a healer coming! But what do we do now?"

"Well _duh_, stop the bleeding! But how?"

Yusuke's face screwed up as he listened to whatever Botan told him. "Wolf? Hold on."

He turned to face the others. "You guys have any wolf saliva on you?"

They shook their heads in the negative.

"Oh wait, wolf _demon_ saliva?"

Negative.

"They don't have it. Gross anyway! Why the hell would we need that?"

"Right," He turned to relay to the others. "Wolf's saliva has healing qualities and it's more potent in demons. Dog demon saliva would work too since they are both in the canine family. Do any of you have any dog demon saliva?"

Still no.

"What else do you have? _Fox demon?"_ Yusuke cut his eyes at Kurama before lowering his voice. "Do you have anything else, because these two already have some weird stuff betw…?" His conversation was cut short as Kurama took the phone.

"Yes Botan?"

"Are foxes even in the canine family?" Yusuke asked the silent Hiei and Kuwabara.

Kuwabara shrugged, Hiei said nothing, only watched Kurama.

"This is about to get weird, isn't it?" Kuwabara asked no one in particular.

"This is all on you!" Lui had now reentered the room, looking disgusted with himself.

No one paid him any mind as Kurama finished speaking with Botan and barged past him out of the room.

"He's going to come," Lui continued. "Heal her, and then probably kill everybody. But not before locking me in a box to watch it all happen."

"Besides killing us, I'm pretty happy with that decision." Kuwabara told him.

"Yeah" Yusuke agreed. "How long will it take him to get here?"

"He'll try to kidnap her too for some nefarious deeds."

"Once she's healed, she'll take care of herself. How long away is he?"

"What part of nefarious don't you understand?"

"The whole of it. How long?"

"About half a day."

"Was that so hard?"

"You make life hard." Seeming to remember where he was, Lui looked around to see that Kurama had lugged in a few items and was returning for more. "What the hell is going on in here? What did that Botan say?"

"Right." Yusuke stretched out, putting an arm around Lui's shoulder and leading him out. "Kurama actually has something that could help her. So…let's go before the weirdness in the air chokes everyone."

Kurama then came in with his final items, a large bowl of water and snack foods.

"What the hell is going on?" Lui asked as he found that Kurama was the only one left in the room. He and the fox met eyes, his suspicious, Kurama's grave, and was answered with a door shutting in his face.

* * *

"Did the fox come out to play?"

Kurama only paused in the door way for a second before he shut the door. In the pitch black of his room, he turned golden eyes to the intruder sitting on his window seal.

Hiei's red eyes pierced him through the gloom. "I can smell it on you."

"I'm sure you do. I've spent the better part of the night tending to a horrendous wound."

"I smell your heat." Hiei continued as if Kurama had never spoken. "Your arousal. Did you take advantage of the girl's addled mind?"

Gold snapped up to meet crimson and the tension was cranked up a few decibels.

"I'm sorry, Hiei, but I'm not much of a sadist. Youko may have chased anything with a heartbeat, but half dead, mortally wounded women are not my thing."

"You sure about that, Fox? One of the few women to not throw themselves at you, yet you seem to involve yourself into these situations with her. Big hit to the ego, isn't it? Especially when she seems so disgusted with you soon after? Are you sure you haven't taken up seducing her as a personal challenge?"

There was a second of silence between the two. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

"What are you trying to do?" Kurama finally asked into the heated darkness.

"I'm trying to figure out what you're playing at? First you give me the girl, and now I see you trying to make her yours. Are you trying to up the challenge by adding me as competition? I've been thinking; recalling, all the times you've looked at her, spoken to her…thought about her. You have a taste for the girl. There is no denying that you do; but why bring me into it? And if you didn't involve me, then why are you encroaching?"

"Do you really know me, Hiei?" Kurama asked immediately, his voice sounding heated. "This talk of challenges, competition, and encroaching makes me believe that you do not. I did not _give_ Kagome to you. I am _not_ trying to seduce her, and if I were, I would not have planned to get her skinned alive just to treat her wounds."

"I see that you do not deny your desire for her."

"Well I see what you're playing at now."

"And what is that?"

"Cowardice. You have feelings for someone and you don't know what to do with it. You're afraid of yourself and of her rejection. So you've found something to target your aggression at; me. You think I intentionally place us into situations. Me? Yes, I have lain down with her, taken her, but who could have foresaw an aging spell that would render everyone but Youko and Kagome invalid? Other than that, there has been nothing but tension between us. And now this, which, if you consider all the factors, was your fault."

Hiei was silent but the temperature in the room began to rise.

"You were too caught up in the victory of slaying a dragon. I saw the gloating on your face; the bloodlust. Admiring the blood on your katana. Prolonging the beast's death, just to satisfy your craving for dominance and power. You took too long and it knew its fate. When it opened its eyes, you should have ended it there, but instead you let it seek her out. Let it commit its final act. It's true you weren't the closest to her, but you are the fastest among us. If anyone was going to stop it from trying to take her out with it, it was you. You seemed to have failed at protecting what you may think to call yours."

Golden eyes burned into crimson and a strain was put onto a friendship as neither backed down.

Kurama lowered his eyes first and when he spoke, he used a softer tone. "I apologize, I'm just very tired now and Youko…"

"Save it, Fox." Hiei interrupted as he turned his back on him and opened the window. "Now go scrub your face again. You didn't get all the blood off."

* * *

The first thing Kagome became aware of was the whispering. It was fevered whispering close to her, too close to her. She could feel the breath as they seemingly murmured into her face. Whoever they were, blowing hot breath on her face, they were moving; she could feel the slight vibrations in the bed. She would have been freaked out; unnerved, and slightly angry, if the fact that her back wasn't killing her wasn't so very obvious at the moment. It was still painful, as if someone had beat her senseless with a bat, but at least the bat wasn't on fire anymore and covered in spikes.

As she tried to open her eyes, she found them slightly stiff and crusted over from tears and deep sleep. Yet, once fully opened, she was startled into a stupor as she met the multiple pairs of eyes that belonged to the monster in bed with her.

The monster was far from startled, and once it realized she was awake, it opened its many mouths and grinned at her with hundreds of tiny pointed teeth.

She would have jumped, fought back, screamed, but the monster moved faster than her and with a shrill cry it leapt from the bed and ran off, and as it was leaving, she saw that the monster was in fact, just a herd of children.

"The Lord's young litter of pups."

With her heart still jumping in her chest, Kagome tried to turn around to face the new voice, but as she moved, she found it hard to move her body from the waist up. She was stiff and had to move slowly, her back and neck seemingly fused together now.

"Yes, yes. The new skin will take some time to loosen up. That will be easier with daily therapy administered to it."

"Who…are you?" as she finally managed to turn around, she was again met with a sight.

"I'm the Lord's head heal…I mean his Chief Doctor on staff." The Chief Doctor told her from his lipless mouth. Why lipless?

Because grasshoppers tended to not have them. A giant grasshopper/doctor was lounging in a chair beside her bed, drinking tea.

"You may call me Caeli."

"I'm Kagome." She told him, seeing no reason to be rude.

Caeli nodded at her in acknowledge as he stood up to reach her. "Here we go dear, I'm sure you're tired of lying on your belly, let's get you up."

As he helped her to sit up, she found out that the straightest she could sit up was with a slight hunch.

"Thank you for healing me."

"It's my Lord that you should be thanking. He took me away from my other patients just to get to you. It would seem you're very important to him."

"Oh, your Lord is Lui's father?"

"Yes, Lui is the Lord's oldest."

"What is…" a creaking at the door stopped her midsentence, and as she struggled to turn her head, she saw that the herd was back.

Now identifying them for what they were, she began to distinguish the grinning faces apart. There were eight of them, that she saw, all of differentiating height, hairstyles, eye color, and skin tone. The only standard between them all was the shape of their faces. Despite their differences; they all looked similar to one another. Looking closer at the one in front, she saw that he was the only one with a mass of red hair, pulled into puffball on top of his head and held together with a blue ribbon.

Her eyes opened wider as she continued to observe him. And as his details grew in familiarity, the wider her eyes grew.

"Shippo?"

The little boy's mouth opened wide as he flew towards her. "Kagome!" he yelled as he pummeled into her chest, crying out with unrestraint.

With the familiar ball of fluff in her arms, Kagome figured out that her eyes grew wide for a reason; there was a floodgate breaking behind them.

"Lady Kagome!" the herd yelled in unison as they too flew at her, tackling the duo onto the bed. Her back groaned in protest at this, but she could care less at the moment.

She cried, he cried, and the other kids cried along with them. Hugging him tightly, she kissed him anywhere she could reach and he lavished in her every touch. The herd was right along with the kissing and smothered her in butterfly kisses of their own. They made the reunion a bit surreal, but she imagined it was like reuniting with someone while having a litter of puppies attacking you. It was kind of cute in its own way.

"I missed you so much!" Shippo cried, a sobbing pause in between each word.

"I missed you too!" she cried back in a similar fashion.

"Don't ever leave me again!"

"I won't! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Kagome!"

After their declaration, they're crying was renewed with vigor along with the herd.

"Cut that shit out!" A voice tried to cry out over the noise, but was ignored.

"You do know you're not wearing a shirt, right?" Another voice; still ignored. She had seen the bandages.

"Can I join in?"

Ignored.

"Miss, if you all continue in this fashion, you will tear the new skin."

Blissfully unaware and uninterested.

"Dad! That's enough, get off of her!"

That'll do it.

With seven children clinging to her and never relinquishing her hold on Shippo, Kagome sat up, rather slowly, and stared at the assembled boys around her. Stared at Lui.

"Dad?" she repeated with confusion as her eyes scanned her bed and the room.

"Yeah!" Lui grumbled with his arms crossed on his chair. "The pervert nuzzling your chest."

Without lessening her hold, Kagome looked down to catch the tail end of a glare Shippo was throwing Lui's way. But as she looked down at him, he met her gaze with the softened, puppy eyed, doe stare of innocence and love that she had known for years.

"Kagome." She looked back up just in time to have a shirt thrown at her.

"He's a grown man." Yusuke countered. "A full grown demon. That's Lui's dad."

After putting on her shirt, with Shippo and the herd sitting beside her on the bed, Kagome looked from the little fox to the patiently sitting, giant grasshopper.

"Who did you say your Lord was?"

The doctor nodded. "I serve under the Western Lord. Lord Shippo, sitting there beside you."

Looking back at Shippo, she was met with a sheepish grin this time.

"What can I say, Kagome?" he asked with a laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's been a long 500 years."

"Right!" Lui declared angrily, pointing an accusing finger at his father; at Shippo. "Now stop the act and turn back to your right body."

"No!" Kagome yelled out, as she grabbed at Shippo and hugged him to her again.

"Not yet." She added in a softer tone.

"You heard her." Shippo gloated, sticking his tongue out at his son. "Now take your brothers and sisters and get out!"

"She doesn't want to…"

"Get out." Kagome declared for him, a voice thick with renewed tears and she fell to her side, dragging Shippo along with her.

"That's right." Dr. Caeli stated as he stood and began ushering the reluctant boys away. "They have much catching up to do. You should know that Master Lui."

"Bye Papa!" The herd called out in unison, hanging from their big brother. "Bye Lady Kagome!"

"You sure you'll be alright?" Kuwabara asked from the doorway.

Unable to speak, Kagome merely nodded and after a few more urges from the doctor, and a desire to not see her cry anymore, her door was closed and they were alone.

Laying down in the silence, she looked at Shippo and he merely stared back, both happy to just be in each other's company once again.

"I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye." She finally whispered to him.

Smiling at her, he wiped her cheek with his little paw. "It's been 500 years Kagome, I forgive you. Besides, Miroku told us why."

"What happened after I left?"

He looked up at her through his eyelashes and she caught sight of the man that he was. An old man with too much history. Through that look, she felt the stare of an abandoned, bitter youth. She saw the harsh father that Lui spoke of constantly.

"We found out a few things about ourselves." He finally answered, playing with a lock of her hair. "Apparently we didn't like each other very much. And without you, there was no reason for us to stay together."

"It happened bit by bit over a few weeks." He continued. "First it was just us three as we left Inuyasha and Kikyo. We were mad; angry at him, furious. But we couldn't defeat him, we knew it, so we just left. It was good at first. We just continued on, but you were missed. I missed you. I missed you a lot. I hated Inuyasha for what happened. I started hating you. I did hate you. I felt you had abandoned me. You had."

Turning over onto his back, Shippo looked off into the past.

"I was very moody those days. Then moodiness turned into anger, and anger turned into rage. Miroku told me it would be okay. Told me that one day I would understand. He made me sick with his optimism. It aggravated Sango; his faith in you. She began to leave more. She went on many solo missions, and then one day, she stayed away."

"It hurt Miroku, I know now that it did. She abandoned him like you did me, but I could care less for how he felt then. I was a small bundle of bitterness. I was his burden now, and that I knew. I felt he resented me for it. He may have, I don't know. He found a small village and began to clergy there. It was meant to be only a few days. But days turned to weeks and the weeks never ended."

"I think he moved there to die. That's what he smelled like to me. Death. I didn't stick around. Things from then on are kind of a blur." He turned to her and smiled sheepishly as he scratched his head. "Basically I roamed around, terrorized a lot of humans, got in touch with my inner demon, and in a drunken, snarling rage, challenged Sesshomaru to a battle."

"You challenged Sesshomaru?"

He grinned at her stunned face.

"Well obviously he didn't kill you. How did you end up…_here_?"

"Well he pretty much swatted me like a fly. Beat me kind of badly really. I couldn't see out of my left eye for years, but he took me home with him. Cleaned me up, groomed me, and slapped me down when the need arose. He took me in as a pet project, molded me into his ideal image, and prepared me to be his predecessor."

"He chose you instead of having his own heir?"

"Yeah. He knew times were changing and he made extensive, highly detailed plans. It was like he could see the future, because after the separation of the realms and the industrial revolution; he plopped me into his seat as Western Lord and went to conquer the human business realm. He's very good at it; and once he has his fill, he will return to Makai and attempt to overthrow me; whom he has prepared as more than a worthy adversary, and reign over his conquest. He gets bored easily."

"I see that."

"It was him who finally helped me stop being angry. To stop hating you. What Miroku said was right, I would understand later. I do. I started remembering you, and how you were. The good times that we had and how happy you made me. It didn't go away all at once, I tell you, but the hate did turn back into love eventually. I began missing you again and I knew all I had to do was wait and I would see you again."

He put a hand to her cheek and smiled longingly at her.

"And here we are."

She grabbed his hand and placed a kiss on it as a fresh wave of tears ran across her nose. "I'm really sorry you went through all of that. I never knew that this would happen. But I had to get away from them. I wasn't strong enough to fight him and I didn't want any of you to get hurt. But I'm almost done here now, and I think I can handle myself and I'll come back and make everything right. I promise."

He frowned at her before sitting up straight.

"What is it?" she asked in confusion as she struggled to follow his lead.

"Didn't you hear me? I went over 500 years without seeing you. None of us ever saw you again. Kagome, you never came back."


	14. Chp 14 Reconcile

**Chp 14. Reconcile**

Denial.

It wasn't a river. It was an ocean. And Kagome Higurashi drowned in it. Lost in its chasms for three days as a herd of small children ran reckless throughout the house and made their big brother cry. The house was a mess and the spirit detectives were on their very last straw. Their nerves were thin, and the Doctor Caeli couldn't fix it. He didn't want to fix it. He too was growing restless for want of returning to his other patients. Yet, Lord Shippo refused to leave, barely left Kagome's side, and only graced them with his presence when venturing out to get something for Kagome.

"Oi!" Yusuke called out as Shippo went waddling back to Kagome's room with a pile of things that were too big for him to properly carry. "When the hell are you leaving? Your kids are driving us crazy!"

"Yeah!" Lui demanded as he punted a sibling out of his way to confront his father.

Giving Lui a disappointing look, Shippo placed his load on the floor and turned to face his confronters with his hands on his hip.

"I'll leave when it is absolutely necessary. And I don't see that coming up too soon."

"But, my Lord," the doctor voiced up. "I have other patients to attend to."

"Indeed you do. Go check Kagome's boo boo." Not sparing the doctor a second look and ignoring his sigh, Shippo looked to his brood.

"Pups!" he barked, making them all halt their antics to pay attention to him "Has big brother been taking care of you?"

"Yes papa." They announced in unison, to which Shippo gave Lui a nod of approval.

"Good. Now sit and behave until I come get you."

Seeming to wear the same mischievous smile, the herd all sat down and faced the TV they had broken only hours before.

"Is that better detectives?"

"No! Now they're just creeping me out."

"It's called Ima-gi-na-tion!"Shippo told him with a smile.

"It looks like they're plotting total destruction!"

"I have no control over that." Turning towards his oldest, Shippo's smile dropped. "Oh oldest disappointment, what is it do you want?"

"I want you to leave us alone. And stop wearing that kid disguise, you're a grown man!"

"Us?"

"Me and Kagome!"

"Kagome doesn't want me to leave her alone." Shippo countered with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Kagome loves me!"

"She doesn't love you! She loves who you use to be! She loves that skin you're wearing! She doesn't know anything about old man Shippo! The evil, bad things you've done!"

"I've told her about the dark days."

"Did you tell her you killed my mother out of jealously because she loved me more than you?"

"I'm sure you already told her as much."

"What about your sex grotto of whores you're using to make an army?"

"Don't call your sibling's mothers whores when they can hear you."

"Would you just get out of here?"

"Is that a challenge to your old papa?" Standing up as tall as he could in his current body, Shippo's face went stony as he looked upon his eldest.

Looked upon was taking it easy. The look he gave off, though directed at his son, was felt throughout the room. It gripped the heart and placed fear into its core. It was cold, calculating, and deadly. Now they knew where Lui had gotten his stare from, but it was a butterfly kiss compared to his father's.

"No sir." Lui offered up with a weak voice as he back downed with his eyes downcast and neck exposed.

"Good." Shippo piped out with a cheery grin to the silent room. "Now take care of my army until I deem fit to return."

"So," Yusuke chimed in after a moment. "I now know what it is like to get bitch slapped with a look."

Hiei sniffed and looked disgusted. "Someone pissed themselves." But no one owned up to it.

* * *

As Kagome found out, the ocean of denial lead to the Lonely Island of Depression where Shippo was currently trying to construct a raft for her to escape from it.

He was currently applying salve to her back and helping massage the sore areas as he told her stories of his and their friend's past.

"And that's when I realized I loved her."

"What happened to her?" Kagome asked, interested in the story of Lui's mom despite her sadness.

"She abandoned us a little while after she gave birth to Lui." As he said this, his hands tightened on her and she winced at the pain.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, genuinely sorry that Shippo had suffered another abandonment.

"It's okay. It's been years since it happened, besides, poetic justice; she was killed a few months after she left."

Looking over her shoulder, Kagome caught a humorous smile upon Shippo's face, but as he saw her looking he wiped it away.

"Lui blames me. He thinks I had her killed because I was jealous of the attention she showed him. I'd rather he think that than know the truth. He's a sensitive boy."

"He has horrible stories of you." She suddenly told him. "Why were you so mean to him?"

Shippo sighed. "He was my first child and I pretty much raised him alone. And my father figures weren't really father-ish. I may have been tough on him, but…Kagome, come one. You've been around him. He is very dramatic. The boy exaggerates."

"Yeah. I can see that. Besides, the rest of your kids seem pretty happy."

"They are." He confirmed with fondness in his voice. "Lui's very good with them. When not fighting with me, he spends plenty of time with them. I just pray that he doesn't rub off on them."

Kagome laughed at this and he smiled.

"I wish I had him before Sango died. She could have helped whip him into shape for me."

Kagome felt a hitch catch in her throat.

"How did Sango die?"

Shippo was silent a moment as he tried to remember.

"It was a sickness. I can't remember the symptoms too well, I only heard of it later on from word of mouth. She was greatly loved and admired. She practically revolutionized demon hunting throughout the land. I was there for Miroku though."

She couldn't bring herself to ask, but Shippo continued anyway.

"He was kicked in the head by a mule."

"Shut up!"

"No lie. But he didn't die right then. He died a few days later surrounded by his kids."

"Kids?"

"Yeah. He died as an old man with a fat, angry wife and many kids to carry on his name, _and_ to hide the fact that their patriarch died from a case of mistaken identity when someone called out something about an ass."

"Yeah, that sounds like an old man Miroku."

"He never changed." Shippo told her with a shared laugh.

"Shippo?" she asked her voice somber once more. "You said Miroku died as an old man. What about his wind tunnel? What about Naraku? Is he still around? Was he defeated? I need to know."

"Naraku?" he repeated conversationally, rubbing and kneading the muscle at the base of her neck. "Naraku exploded."

She sat up at this and looked at him in confusion as he grinned up at her.

"He exploded? Naraku? The evil guy we were after the whole time? That guy? He exploded?"

"Yep."

"He just exploded? Why, _how_?"

"Don't know. Never really understood it. Legend has it that he spread himself so thin, you know with all those 'children' he was making, that his body couldn't hold all his power and he just went…boom."

She blinked slowly.

"And after he exploded, his 'children' went right after him. There was Naraku everywhere. It was gross."

She blinked at him again, and the only sound to be heard from her was a growling in her belly.

He laughed at the sound. "Guess I'll go get you something to eat now." Making to hop off the bed, he was halted mid-leap as Kagome grabbed him around the middle and hugged him to her.

"I'm, I'm sort of glad that they died that way."

"What do you mean?" Shippo asked in confusion.

"Inuyasha told me he killed them. Told me he killed you all."

"Ah. So you ran into him."

"Yeah." She moaned aloud. "He's dead now. I was so angry, so enraged at him…at them. I killed Kikyo and I tried to kill Inuyasha."

"Tried?"

"The boys stopped me, but Hiei told me later. He delivered the finishing blow." Her voice became choked up as the urge to cry overcame her. "He killed Inuyasha."

"Oh no you don't!" Shippo exclaimed as he pushed her onto her back. "Don't you cry for him. He's the reason that I went so long without you. He doesn't deserve your tears. But I deserve your laughter." And with that said, Shippo made it his duty to find her every tickle spot.

It's hard to cry and be depressed when you had a tiny, fluffy tailed youth who could barely reach your knees tickle you so thoroughly. She laughed, she couldn't help but do so, and as she was relentlessly tickled, tears began to leak from her eyes in mirth.

"Stop it!" she screamed between laughter as she tried to squirm away, but Shippo was too fast, too merciless, to head her plea.

"Blasphemy!"

Stopping mid tickle and laugh, Kagome and Shippo turned in unison to her doorway to find the entire gang staring at them, some in anger. Well, maybe just the one person.

"That's it!" Lui yelled, pointing a finger angrily at the duo. "Father, Lord of the Western Lands, _Shippo_, I challenge you!"

Letting the part of Kagome's shirt that he held in his mouth fall, Shippo stepped to the middle of the bed and stood up straighter with a smirk on his face as he looked to his angry son.

"You wish to challenge me, Aluicious?"

The boys burst into laughter and Kagome bit her lip to keep from sounding at.

"Yes. I. Do." Lui answered him, ignoring the guffaws.

"What, I ask, will be at stake? What shall be the spoils of the victor?"

"Besides your death by my hands, the winner, _I_, shall win Kagome's heart and you will be forbidden to see her ever again."

"Why the hell am I the prize, _Aluicious_?" Kagome couldn't bring herself to finish the question with a straight face and ended up laughing.

"You really wish to defeat me?"

"Yeah. I've been saying it since I was twelve."

"Do you think you can? Can you, Aluicious, defeat your papa? Can you take up his place in the world? Are you strong enough to raise your siblings up big and strong? Will you be able to defend the castle and lands from Uncle Sesshy when he gets bored of tormenting humans? Uncle Sesshy will not tolerate weakness. Will you take my place today? Can you even handle the real Kagome? She is not one of your dolls, Aluicious. _She_ bites back!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, and YES I CAN!"

"Then outside, Eldest! Show me that you can and I will depart this very day. Whether it is by death or of my own accord."

"Damn right it'll be by death." Lui muttered as he turned around to get ready. "I'll rip your throat out like you did to my puppy."

"He does this every few years or so." Shippo told them as a way to answer their questioning stairs. "It won't take long, I'll just give him a quick spanking and I'll be back in your arms before you know it." With a hop and a skip, Shippo was gone out the door to battle his son to the possible death.

"This family is weird." Kuwabara stated to the quiet room.

"Want to go watch the fight?" Yusuke asked the silent Kagome.

She shrugged as much as she could. "Yeah, why not? I've spent enough time in this bed."

* * *

"What did we just watch?"

Kagome shrugged as they continued to watch Lui literally get spanked by someone almost five times smaller than him.

"What are you doing Lui?" Yusuke yelled. "He's the size of your foot! Fight back!"

"And now he's crying." Kuwabara observed.

"Oh my." Kagome murmured.

Though he was not outright sobbing, Lui did seem emotional as he kneeled in front of his father as Shippo either consoled or scolded him. None of them could hear the words that were exchanged, but they did see Lui nod ever so often.

"Does anyone else feel kind of sad for him?" Yusuke asked aloud, and when no one answered him back, his eyes drifted over to Kagome. "You look like a vulture."

"What?"

"You know. With you all hunched over and with your crooked neck. You look like a vulture."

With offense written all over her, Kagome struck the offender in the gut and made herself stand up straight. Standing up straight was hard to do, her back's dull ached reawakened and the skin was tight and stretched painfully, but she managed to do it.

"See, now you're just sticking your boobs out to try to make us forget about the vulture."

Grumbling to herself and shooting the detective a dirty look, Kagome walked away from them and headed straight to the dysfunctional family. As she approached, Shippo flashed her a smile, while Lui hurriedly stood up and wiped his eyes.

"How much did you see?" he asked, trying to put up a brave front.

"All of it." She answered truthfully, shattering his charade, while she happily caught Shippo as he hopped into her arms.

"So is everything alright?" she asked them both.

"Yeah. Since he…_won_… " Lui muttered darkly, choking on the word. "I guess he can stay."

"There is no doubt about me staying." Shippo told his son from within Kagome's arms. "The question that remains in the air is whether or not you shall remain here in her presence."

"The hell you talking about, pop?"

"We never discussed the terms for when I win. And I won, son."

"And I guess you want her all to yourself."

"I deserve her all to myself." Shippo goaded him as he hugged Kagome closer.

"No you don't!" Lui yelled, his face turning red with anger. "No he doesn't, Kagome! Tell him!"

"I have no say in this." She told him, not wanting to get drawn into the family dispute but wanting to spend more times with Shippo.

"He killed my mother!" Lui countered, sure his conviction with convince Kagome of Shippo's evil.

"Didn't you tell me you killed your girlfriend?"

Lui opened and closed his mouth multiple times.

"He's still on punishment for that." Shippo offered up into the silence, a cheery smile on his face. "This is why he shall be returning home with Dr. Caeli and the troop. Immediately."

Lui began to argue, but a look from Shippo silenced and killed any fight in him.

"I shall tell the rest." Shippo announced, reading Kagome's silent glance. Hopping from her arms he ran back towards the watching crowd.

"I guess this is good-bye." Kagome started off after an awkward moment passed.

"Do you know how it feels to lose the woman of your dreams to your own father?" Lui yelled over her.

"Not at all." She answered him. "And I'm not the woman of your dreams."

"Are you sure? Because this voice in my head is saying otherwise."

Kagome said nothing as she tried to gauge whether that had been a joke or not.

"What?" Lui asked to her questioning face in confusion.

"Come here." She said in resignation as she pulled him to her in a hug. "You're such a weirdo."

"But you liked it, right?" he asked as he pushed her away, his face hopeful. "Liked me?"

"Not as much as you would have liked."

"Oh."

"But I'm glad to have met you." And before he could react, she gave him a swift peck to his cheek.

After dodging his attempt at a deeper kiss, Kagome led him back to the others. Upon arrival, she saw that Dr. Caeli and the kids had joined everyone.

"You ready, eldest?" Shippo asked as he jumped into Kagome's arms.

"No. But I have no choice."

"That's right. Doctor, sorry to have delayed you for so long."

"And thank you, for treating me." Kagome told him earnestly as she gave him a quick bow of thanks.

"My pleasure. And do not fret over the tightness of the new skin; it shall loosen up considerably when the scales set."

Kagome dropped Shippo. "I'm sorry, the what?"

Caeli opened his mouth but was interrupted by the arrival of a helicopter over the horizon. Lui squinted into the storm of noise and wind before turning accusingly to his father.

"How the hell did you get that here so fast?"

"I called for them yesterday." Shippo answered, not bothering to look up at his eldest as he busied himself around his other children.

"They got here pretty damn conveniently!"

At this, Shippo did look up. "I know you, Aluicious. You are my first, my eldest, my prodigy. I watched you grow and develop. I know you."

"That's…kind of nice and creepy." Lui looked uncomfortable. "Why are you being fatherly?"

"Contrary to your psyche, I actually love you."

Lui twitched. His mouth opened and closed rapidly, and he looked to be constipated. By now, the helicopter had landed a little ways off from them and the increased noise helped them to look pass Lui's issues.

"Give Papa kisses!" Shippo squealed to his brood, ignoring his eldest ordeal. "You big good for big brother while papa is away. Okay?"

"Yah, Papa!" they chimed in, surrounding their miniature father and smothering him in hugs and kisses.

"But not too good." He whispered loudly, and with a united yell, they ran for the chopper, trampling their still flabbergasted brother in the process. They were soon followed by the doctor.

"No!" Kagome yelled after him. "About this scale thing!"

"Wait!" Lui yelled over her, but it wasn't the doctor he was yelling for. "I can't leave! Kagome needs the other half to a relic that you have and I don't know where to look."

Shippo whistled loudly, again drowning out Kagome's yell. From the chopper, one of the smaller, and quicker, children came running towards them. As they made it to them, he quickly handed Shippo a package and ran off again.

"Oh come on!" Lui exclaimed as Shippo produced the missing half of the relic and handed it to Kagome. "How the hell did you know to bring that?"

"Kagome told me." He answered simply.

"Really Kagome?"

"What? It helped me out."

"Give Papa kisses." Shippo demanded, hopping onto Kagome's shoulder so he could get level with his son.

Looking torn between showing Kagome affection and avoiding his father, Lui deciding on just grabbing Kagome's hand in a loving caress.

"Don't forget me."

"I couldn't if I wanted to."

Lip trembling slightly, Lui nodded his head at her, pushed his father off her shoulder, and turned and walked to the awaiting helicopter.

"So…I'm going to be growing scales." Kagome announced after the chopper had taken to the sky and the sight of Lui's forlorn face had gotten old.

"Well what did you expect," Hiei asked her darkly. "Mistress Schlange?"

"You know this thing you do? It's not cute."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"What's going on here?" This came from Kuwabara but was ignored.

"I'm going to end up kicking your ass, that's what, bitch."

"Kagome!" Shippo reprimanded her in his father voice.

"Yeah." Yusuke complained. "Stop flirting and just put the damn relic together."

"Where the hell do you live?" Kagome asked as she produced the main relic. "What kind of flirting is that?"

"Hiei flirting." He mumbled, enticing a quick jab to the kidney. "Don't think I didn't notice."

"What?"

"Let's just finish this." Kurama intervened.

"You always seem to surround yourselves with characters." Shippo commented as he jumped on her shoulder for a better look.

"I didn't surround myself, they surrounded me. It was a kidnapping." Though mumbling to herself, Kagome finally placed the missing half into its place and completed the relic. As it slid into place, it began to hum in her hands and glow a soft light.

The others gathered closer to her as the light grew brighter and the relics began to turn in their places. It seemed to emit a low keening noise, but it was too low to be sure. Just as the relic seemed to reach its crescendo, all the activity began to wind down. And by the time it was once again dead in her hands, they were all fully disappointed.

"Well that was lame." Yusuke commented, voicing everyone's opinion.

"Maybe you have to shake it." Kuwabara offered up. Kagome was about to give it a shot, why not, when the relic started acting up again.

Kagome shrugged while trying not to get blinded by the light. "I guess it's just old."

"Look." Shippo yelled enthusiastically. "Something's about to happen."

Indeed something did happen. The relic seemed to open, revealing a magical beautiful world with a light so bright, it seemed to be a gateway to the heavens. The opening let out a warm gust that blew their hair back as they stared into it in wonder. Though, where there was beauty, there was also the putrid stench of rotted flesh.

"What is this?" Kagome asked aloud. Is what Kagome _wanted_ to ask aloud. But just as she opened her mouth, a hand was placed over it. The hand covered her mouth, her nose, and her eyes. It was larger than her head and its gripped completely engulfed it and even clamped down over her shoulders, giving her little ability to maneuver her arms. The hand hit her in the face with the blunt force of a wall. On impact she bit her lip and felt sharp pain throughout her head, but the pain to her nose was the worst. Hot blood immediately began running down her face. She screamed with the taste of her blood in her mouth, but her voice was drowned out by the roar, and rancid breath of the beast whose hand was trying to squeeze her to death.

Through the gaps of the fist, she saw that it came from the relic, and as she watched, more and more of it exited the hole. With a second and louder roar, the beast squeezed her harder, making her body contort as her back was forced to bend. She heard the boys yelling, but if they were yells of battle or pain, she wasn't sure. Her feet had left the ground by now and the strain on her already injured back was amplified. She found it hard to breathe; every struggle she attempted was met by another squeeze. All around her was chaos, the boys yelled and growled, her name was called and yelled, the beast roared, lights and colors flickered and flared pass the gaps in the fist, and she was mere rag doll in the hands of fate.

"Break it!" she heard yelled. "Break the damn thing!"

"Please break it!" she yelled, her voice muffled and nasally. She wasn't sure if they heard her. She wasn't even sure if she actually said it aloud. But Hiei was suddenly there, looking at her through the gaps. He stood upon the hand and stared down at her with steely, angered eyes and she froze at the intensity of their heated glance.

"I've got you." He told her, and she could do nothing more than nod.

She saw him draw back, but she never saw him draw the katana. It was just there. His face was determined and his steel was capable. She wondered at what he would do. Would he sever the hand? Just the fingers? Carve out a hole for her to escape?

He stabbed the great beast with the resulting roar hinting at a pained insertion. His plan was a success and Kagome was dropped.

As she fell, she finally got to see her captor. The monster stood almost as tall as the trees. Its body was vaguely humanoid in anatomy. Its skin was a rough leathery texture and it had no hair. The face was little more than a place to hold the grotesque mouth and had no discernible nose and no eyes, but as she fell it turned in her direction and roared again in anger.

Hiei was falling with her, and she reached out desperately to him, but just as her fingers grazed his, the monster's hand was there and swinging wildly. One swipe swatted Hiei away like a bug, and the next pushed her down harder and faster to meet the ground. She braced her as much as she could, but the collision still made her world go dark.

She could barely hear, each blinked felt like it took forever, and the darkness between each felt longer and longer. And it was during this state that she saw him. The little boy. He walked slowly towards her. He was dirty and barefoot. His black hair was a dirty matted mess atop of his head and his skin was an ashen white. Though her condition wasn't a reliable source for accuracy, the kid seemed impervious of his surroundings. Once he stood before her, the little boy crouched down to look her in the eye. And as brown met a stormy grey, he smiled at her, but there was nothing sweet about it.

"Hello, Kagome." He greeted her, but before she could respond, before she could begin to defend herself, her world went entirely black.

* * *

She was coming to. She didn't want to, but she was. Nothing but hurt waited on the other side of her consciousness; she could already hear it. Well that and the thunderous footfalls of a monster, but she didn't want to deal with that either. Now she just wanted to deal with the life crisis she had just fallen into. She had just had an epiphany and realized something terrible but true. Her life had been better with Inuyasha. Yes he demeaned her, played with her heart strings, and even tried to kill her, but at least that's all he planned to do. With Inuyasha, though she just called names and cheated on constantly, she had been surrounded by loving friends and protected. She'd trade that any day for the poisoning, kidnapping, molestation/rape, and constant injuring that she was undergoing while with the spirit detectives.

She would have whimpered but it was suddenly forced out of her as her head was painfully yanked back by her hair.

"You are awake." The kid declared, forcing her to acknowledge reality.

"I am." She confirmed with a groan. She tried to look at him properly, but found it hard to open her eyes. _'I never got black eyes with Inuyasha.'_

"Who are you?" she asked, looking at the grey eyed kid as best as she could.

He regarded her with his stormy gaze, and as he sat back on his haunches, she noticed he was sitting on a giant arm. At the end of that arm was a big, meaty hand, and clenched in that meaty palm was a little black haired miko with crushed ribs.

"My mother called me Weylin."

"We were told if we combine all the pieces to the relic, we would end up with a powerful weapon."

"I'm not a weapon."

"Then why were you, both of you, in that thing?"

Weylin stood up, his face impassive, and as he turned darkened eyes to her, the big ogre began to crush her in its grip. Weylin seemed deaf to her distress and casually sauntered up to the head of their transporter.

"They put me in there." He whispered, looking out at the horizon.

"Who?" she croaked out, hoping to sound sympathetic.

"Everyone." The word was said with the heat no child should be able to muster. His voice grew low and his grey eyes darkened. With the utterance of the word the beast roared angrily and pain grew in her head and extended down her spine. The pain was so intense she was acutely aware of every hair on her head.

"They all put me away." Weylin continued angrily, seemingly unaware of her trauma. "Mother, father, and the whole entire village."

_'I really hope that's not blood!_' Kagome screamed inside her head as she felt liquid coursing down her face.

"They called me names." His voice got angrier, and with the anger the beast squeezed her harder and the pain in her head intensified. She tried to scream, but she could scarcely pull air into her body.

_'I can't black out! Oh god, let me black out!'_

"I cried and they did nothing."

"You're killing me!" she accomplished to yell. The pain lessened and the pressure on her body let up as the beast eased up. As she was finally able to breathe, she slumped over onto the fist and shook. She hadn't noticed she had been sweating until she had to see through hair that was now plastered to her face. She would have moved it aside, but the thought of even lifting her arms made her ache more.

"Oh. So I am." Weylin commented dryly as he looked down upon her. "Maybe I should."

"What?" wheezing, Kagome flopped her head around until she could see her supposed executioner.

"Kill you." He repeated his voice as dead as he promised her to be. "You need to be punished for what you did and I need to exact revenge. So, decidedly, I should kill you. Right?"

Kagome choked on her fear. "No."

"No?" he seemed genuinely surprised. "You don't think you should die? That you shouldn't be punished?"

She just managed to nod her, too scared and tried to say anymore.

"Liar!"

The pain was back and so intense that Kagome reeled back at the sudden assault. She tried to scream, but a spout of blood made its way out first.

"Stop it!"

"But you deserve to die!"

"No! I don't!"

"Stop lying!" the pain intensified at his outburst. "You know you should be punished! I can see it in you!"

"Why?"

"Because you abandoned him! Shippo! You abandoned him and everyone you knew! I heard you say it! I see that you know it!"

"You shut up!" It took all her might to get the words out and mean it. At this the pain suddenly subsided as Weylin was shocked into a slight stupor. Slumping over and breathing heavily, Kagome made sure to keep him in sight. "Yeah. Yeah! I feel like I abandoned him. I feel that deep in my heart."

She had to take a break and regain her breath. She was surprised that he let her do so. He merely watched her in curiosity.

"But the truth is…I didn't."

His eyes widened at her declaration.

"I always intended to go back. I never abandoned them. Something must've happened to keep me from returning."

She finally felt herself drifting off and she welcomed it. "I would never purposely hurt him."

Sleep evaded her as she felt her body erect itself up ramrod straight. Breathing heavily though her mouth and shaking from both fear and pain, she stared straight at Weylin as he looked stoically at her.

"My mother purposely abandoned me." The way he told her, it seemed to her as if he was looking for response.

"Then she wasn't a very good mother."

He looked surprised at her answer. "And you are?" the question came out more as an accusation.

"I'm not his mother."

"Then why do you feel guilty? You reek of it when you are with the kitsune."

She didn't even have to think of a reply. "Because I love him."

"How can you do that? He's a demon? He's stronger than you. He could kill you easily if he wanted."

"That has nothing to do with me loving him." she groaned, getting tired and irritated. "Besides, I'm not that easy to kill. Now, let your hold on me go, so I can pass out."

"How can you tell me what to do?" Though his voice sounded indignant, he did release his hold. As she slumped, fell, over in relief, he merely watched her curiously.

"Because…" she huffed. "You're just a kid."

He stood up straighter and the pressure in her head was increased again. She growled amidst the scream. "I am more than a kid. If I wanted I could be a god. I could be your god. I can do anything I want. Create anything I want. Destroy anything I want, and you could do no more than what you do now."

"Yeah, but do you know what you need?" she managed to get out between clenched teeth.

"I need nothing. But I guess you're going to enlighten me."

"You see what you need is a swift kick to your little jewels and a spanking."

"I have no jewels." Weylin uttered slowly in confusion. Kagome only laughed at him.

"You're weird." This declaration only made Kagome howl louder. After a moment's consideration, Weylin's confusion cleared up. "Oh, you're just going into shock."

Shock and delirium would make the strongest person laugh in the face of pain when they undergo it long enough. To follow this with a statement declaring Kagome as in this state would be redundant. So if a giant, red fox suddenly appeared and began viciously gnawing at the arm of the golem, it shined brightly in Kagome's favor that she only laughed in relief.

Weylin didn't look pleased at the sudden arrival. Raising his arm up, he made a slashing movement at the fox. Kagome couldn't see anything move, but as the fox leapt away, she witnessed the spot it had just occupied being cut through. The cut was quick and clean, cleaving the arm in two. As the hand dislodged from the arm, Kagome fell quite a distance before hitting the ground. Upon impact the hand came unclenched and she was finally able to take a full breath.

She barely had time to access her surroundings before Hiei was by her side.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as he managed to successfully hold her upright without causing her to moan.

"I don't know." She answered him truthfully.

"Well you look horrible!"

Seeing as how one of her eyes was now completely swollen shut, and that she had blood on her face from a broken nose, she completely agreed with him.

She laughed weakly before her body slumped over into his arms. He quickly scooped her up and dashed away to the tree line. He didn't take her far before propping her up against a sturdy wood. Although her breathing was shaky, she smiled as he moved a few hairs from her face.

"So I had to get this beat up for you to be sweet?"

Giving her an onceover and deciding she would be fine, he stood to his full height and looked back to where they had come and unsheathed his katana.

Looking at her from the corner of his eye, he smirked. "I'm never sweet." And then he was gone and she was left alone.

Her intentions were to rest and regain some strength before joining the rest. She didn't know how they were fairing; the only sound she could decipher from the battle was Weylin's golem as it roared in anger. Since she heard no sounds of mayhem and horror from her friends, she assumed they could wait.

Starting at her toes and working her way up, she slowly relaxed her body and took deep breaths to get herself ready. Already feeling better, she closed her eye and tried to think healing thoughts.

Light touches on her face made her jerk alert, and that's when she realized she had fallen asleep. In her sleep she had fallen over and she found herself slumped over the roots of the trees with her face pressed into the dirt. The light touches to her face she found to be an albino butterfly, and as her eye opened, the flutter of her eyelashes chased it away. Despite being injured and lying on the forest while a battle waged on behind her, Kagome assumed there could be worst ways to wake up.

As she considered it, it was a pretty damn good way to wake up. She felt good, her body didn't ache, she still found it slightly difficult to breathe and her other eye was still swollen shut, but the pain wasn't a problem anymore. She was well rested and felt stronger. Her left hand especially. Her left hand actually felt too damn strong. She felt that she could crush bricks. It felt as if the power of greyskull was running through it.

"Wow!" she found herself growling, strength seeming to fall from her lips. Sitting up, she looked to where her hand rested upon the relic holder.

"Oh." She said, sitting up. "Well that's convenient."

* * *

"Hey."

Breathing heavily and dripping sweat like a salty waterfall, Yusuke Urameshi turned to see just who the hell was sending out greetings in the middle of a battle.

"You look like shit." Kagome told him as she emerged from the forest.

"Well look who's talking!" he growled. "What the hell is up with your arm?"

"Phenomenal cosmic power?" she suggested, looking down at the glowing pink appendage that was so full of power that it slightly hurt.

"Just keep it away from me."

"This hand isn't for you."

"It's intended for someone?"

"Shut up." she yelled, pushing him down as the golem made a swipe for them. With her hulk arm, Kagome awkwardly struck out with a backwards stroke. The hit caused the golem to rear back with a roar, its arm disintegrating from where she touched it.

"Did you just bitch slap that monster?"

"I think I did." The golem was quickly being purified, its remaining anatomy flailed around, trying to take out anything and anyone before it died. Thankfully, it was disintegrating too fast to cause any harm, unfortunately, while she had been unconscious and juicing up on ancient unknown power, Weylin had apparently been busy manifesting more golems to keep everyone bus; one for each fighter. The kid was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Weylin?" she asked him before he could run off to help Kuwabara.

"Who?"

"The boy."

"I don't know." He yelled, running off. "He's been too busy calling up those damn things!"

Kagome surveyed the surroundings and saw that everyone was busy fighting their own monstrous golem. The boys were holding their own, but she could tell they were getting tired while the golem tended to be unrelenting.

Her arm convulsed as if it couldn't contain its excitement. Clenching her fist and testing her strength, her miko powers flared around her and moved her hair with the motion of a gentle breeze. Kagome Higurashi had just gone Super Miko and she was going to flaunt it.

Giving out a battle cry, more to warn the guys than to intimidate, she ran into the middle of the battle and delivered backhand swing after backhand swing to the legs of any golem she ran across. Her blows were awkward, seeing as she had to use her left hand, but effective. The golem's legs purified first and as they dropped down, the boys were able to finish them off more quickly.

She would have called their work done if it wasn't for the fact that as the golems fell, more materialized out of the air.

"This is what's been happening all this time!" Yusuke yelled. "We kill them and more pop up!"

"It's Weylin!" she told them as she ran at the new arrivals. "That kid has the power to create them!"

"Then find him and stop him! I'm getting hungry!"

"Boys." She growled under her breath, running through the seemingly never ending forest of golem legs. She was blind to her pain, if there was any, as her hand connected with leg after leg. The golem looked to be made of flesh but as her hand connected with them, they crumbled like dirt.

As she worked, she began to feel a resistance on her legs and began to trip up. She tried to press on, but the feeling increased until she completely stopped in her tracks and fell to the ground. Squirming onto her side, she looked down to see what tripped her and found her legs covered in dry mud. She tried to move her legs but the mud was just too thick, and when she went to brush it away, it immediately turned to dust at her touch.

She jumped to her feet and tried to resume her attack of the golem apparitions, but as soon as she tried to move her legs, she stumbled. The dirt was back and higher than ever. Frantically, she slapped and beat the creeping mud, but when she would brush some away, it came back faster and higher.

"Hey guys!" she called out in warning as the mud reached her waist. By now it was starting to get uncomfortable as it tightened around her.

She fought and beat against the mud, but it continued creeping and soon had her arms trapped to her side. It became harder to breathe as it encroached over her chest. The mud was so tight she could barely move her fingers and only her left arm had any freedom as the power that controlled the dirt was annulled at its touch.

She tried to scream, but the mud had enclosed around her neck and cut off any scream she could must. Her eyes looked around erratically as she searched for someone to notice her, but no one looked her way, and soon, her vision turned dark as her head was covered.

While her body tried to hyperventilate, she tried to stay calm so as not to inhale any dirt. As she tried to calm herself, she felt the dirt shifting around her and she hoped to death it wasn't pulling her underground.

"Why are you fighting me?"

Before she could begin to wonder at the voice, her dark shell was invaded by light. The mud crumbled from around her, but stopped at her waist, keeping her getting away as she found herself in the presence of Weylin. He was looking expectantly at her.

"What do you want?" she asked him, spitting out as much dirt as she could.

"For your friends to leave me alone."

"They're only attacking because you kidnapped me."

"So tell them to stop. I didn't hurt you."

"But you did hurt me."

He seemed to try to recall such an incidence. "That's not my fault. You're just too weak. Everyone I hurt was too weak."

"Yeah, well, I'm not too weak now." And with a grunt of effort, Kagome's backhanded Weylin in the face. The little boy didn't fall down, but he stumbled back at the impact.

When he looked back at her, she saw that his face was burned where she touched him. She also saw that he had teared up and for a brief moment, his eyes were filled with hurt and fear. But it lasted only for a brief second. His face tightened with anger and his burn healed, leaving only a slight red indication of the wound.

"You're not supposed to hit me." He told her in a quiet voice.

"And why not? You're just a little bully."

"You're not supposed to hit me." He repeated with an even lower voice, staring up at her through his lashes. "Because I can break you."

He said it with suck conviction and menace that Kagome felt her heart dropped as cold fear filled her belly. The dirt began to run over her body again, but she could barely bring herself to struggle again. The fear gripped her harder than anything.

"W-w-wait, Weylin." She stammered as the dirt gripped her limbs and stretched her out like a ragdoll. "Let's talk about this."

"No." he whispered the word, but she wouldn't have heard him if he yelled it in her ear. No, he said, but all she heard was the pop. Cereal went snap, crackle, pop, but the sound of her arm being torn from her body went pop, snap and crack.

The world went silent at the initial pop and her body jerked as the arm came away. Weylin looked at her, his face somber as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"You made me hurt you." The words didn't match his lips, and they sounded muted and slow to her ears. "They all made me hurt them."

Her brain started to catch up with the situation and her mind was left behind. The first thing she noticed was wetness along her side and how fast it spread. She felt her lungs expand as her body sucked in air. Her mouth was opened wide in a silent scream that she didn't know she was releasing. The sound was back suddenly, an explosion in her ears, and she finally heard the scream. It was a second later before she felt connected to it.

The pain was instantaneous. It tore through her with such ferocity that if she didn't know, she wouldn't have been able to pin point its origins. Her scream attempted to wrench itself from her very being and she thrashed and jerked about in frenzy.

Her scream was the only thing to be heard, the sound seemingly animalistic and long in a continuous note. Her scream set her throat afire and made her lungs ache, but the pain would not let her ease up on it. Her body broke out into such an intense sweat that her hair became instantly plastered to her face and neck.

Though she couldn't see, or comprehend, all fighting ceased at her yell of anguish, and the boys were rooted to their spots as her scream tore through them. They couldn't bring themselves to move as she was held in the air by mounds of dirt and thrashed around in pain. She was covered in blood from her the hole in her shoulder from where her arm used to resign. They saw it on the ground a few feet away from her and by the looks of the extra bones protruding from the limb; it wasn't just an arm that she lost.

Weylin still stood before her and seemed to visibility cringe at her screams and refused to look at her. From where he stood, some of her blood had splashed upon him and he held his hands over his ears to block out her screams.

"Be quiet." He yelled, but Kagome was oblivious to his discomfort and continued to scream and tossed.

"I said shut up!" with his outburst, a blast of unseen power struck Kagome in her chest. The impact broke her free of her dirt prison and threw her across the clearing and into a tree. The collision made her pause in her scream and her body instantly took a breath before she began screaming again.

Kagome falling to the ground snapped the boys to attention. They all ran to her side, but stopped when they saw that they all had the same idea in mind. In their hesitation, they saw that they all had similar looks, on coming rage.

Shippo was the first to snap out of it, and with a ferocious growl, he took off after Weylin. Seconds after, Yusuke and Kuwabara followed suit until only Hiei and Kurama stood undecided. Both stood, breathing hard, and looking at each other.

Hiei gripped his katana hard and set his jaw. "Go to her." He ordered through clenched teeth. Giving a curt nod, Kurama ran to the quieting Kagome, while Hiei sought out vengeance and something to satiate his rage.

At her side, Kurama found himself at a loss at to what to do. He didn't know where to touch her, he didn't know how to deal with an injury so sever, and he didn't know a damn thing to ease her pain.

Her screaming began to quiet and were replaced by sobs. He called out to her, but she didn't hear him. He called out to her again, and turned her face to him, but her one open eye was dilated and didn't see him.

Shippo, still in the form of a giant fox, easily eluded the stomping of the golems as he zoned in on Weylin. The kid was looking distracted and didn't sense the angry ball of fur coming his way. It wasn't until the jaws snapped around his midsection that he decided to pay attention.

Snarling viciously, Shippo attempted to rip the child in half. He clamped his jaws tight enough to taste blood and he shook his massive head to try to wrench the torso in pieces.

Weylin cried out at the assault and beat at Shippo's muzzle with his small fists. "Leave me alone!" he cried, and when his demands went unheeded, an infliction of power forced Shippo's mouth open and with a yip of pain, something swatted him away like an annoying bug.

Standing on his own, Weylin tried to examine his wounds but he was on the defense from Hiei as he was suddenly there. By the way he moved, it was terribly obvious that Weylin had either never fought or had never fought anyone as fast as Hiei. The only thing saving the slower and inexperienced boy was the raw power he kept around himself that he used to deflect Hiei's angry strokes. Yet his deflections were sometimes too slow, and occasionally when he used his hand to throw his power around, Hiei would sometimes nick him before his blade was rebounded. Whenever the blade made contact with his skin, Weylin would let out a yelp of dismay at the pain.

"Stop it!" he whined loudly, tossing his arms out to his side and forcing Hiei away from him. He began to scream like a kid having a tantrum and kept Hiei busy by slinging raw power his way in the form of razor thin wisps that would have cut the fire demon to shreds if he wasn't fast enough to dodge and parry them. He would have had a harder time of it, if Weylin hadn't then been shot down by a spirit blast. As he had been too preoccupied with physical fighting that he had forgotten to produce more golems.

The blast pushed Weylin across the clearing and down onto one knee. Looking up and breathing hard, he saw that they all had recovered were slowly advancing upon him, all cautious, and all bent on destroying him.

He stood too his feet and faced down his combatants. He couldn't understand it. He hadn't done anything to them. They had attacked him first. Everyone always made the first move and blamed him for when people got hurt.

"Back off!" he yelled, his voice loud in the air as he mustered his strength and force the boys down onto their knees as his power battered at them.

They were weak. Weak and attempting to put him away. Just like everyone else. He refused to be locked away again.

With his power incapacitating them, he used the strength of his will to lift them from the ground. With them under his full control, he began a campaign of breaking every bone in their body by playing pong.

They could do nothing to defend themselves. The pain in their head caused every nerve in their body to be aflame. It forced them to their knees and to drop their weapons as they grabbed their heads to keep it from splitting open. When they left the ground, they could do no more about it than the clouds could stop the wind.

Knowing something bad was coming, they would have braced themselves, but their bodies were too preoccupied with the previous pain to prepare them for another.

With Weylin in control, they were bounced from tree to tree to ground to tree. The impacts were jarring and too random to try to predict.

Despite the pain, Yusuke managed to get his resolve together attempted to shoot the little monster again. But as the blast neared him, Weylin brushed it aside like it was nothing.

"Yeah." He grumbled through his teeth. "Try that when I'm on top of my game, little bastard!"

Whether Weylin heard him or not, he didn't respond. The kid didn't laugh or smile, nor did he goad them in their downfall. He simply looked to be focusing on their utter annihilation. No ADD for him.

"Let's not tell anyone we got our ass kicked by a toddler." Kuwabara yelled.

"Who do you think you're talking too?" Yusuke shot back. "I'm not even here."

"Shut up!" Hiei yelled, more annoyed at his inability than at their banter. "Both of you!"

Shippo only barked and growled in unbridled anger.

Ignoring them, Weylin was suddenly blinded by a tornado of leaves that cut into his skin and annoyed him greatly. A whine escaped his throat as he looked to where the assault came from. Upon seeing Kurama, he took a firm hold of the others and began using them as a weapon against their friend.

"Where's the girl?" Hiei yelled as Kurama dodged their bodies.

Instead of an answer, Kurama just shot him a look, and it didn't look good.

"Kill him." Hiei demanded after a thick pause, his voice low and dangerous.

"That's what we plan on doing."

No one got the chance to ask the obvious question. They were silenced by the arrival of the bald, naked woman with no face. Her bodily features mimicked those of a baby doll, her skin was the color of stone, and her head showed no more details than the shape of her head.

She paid them no mind as she swept by. She didn't run, but her pace was quicker than should have been possible. Her attention was on Weylin, and as she bared down on him, he seemed to recognize her and growled in anger.

His hold on the boys dissipated as he focused on the woman.

"Leave me alone!" he yelled, flinging his powers at her, but with no sign of affect. The only indication of its presence was the scour marks in the grounds as it contacted with it.

The woman seemed to quicken her pace as she neared him, and as she drew upon him she delivered a mighty and swift kick to his groin.

"Well that is obviously Kagome." Yusuke voiced up, his voice barely audible over Weylin's prepubescent scream of pain. "Why does she have two arms? Because I clearly see her old one lying over there."

"It's the relic. It is a weapon after all." Kurama answered him, dragging their exhausted and immobile bodies into the tree line. "She told me that it could help her. But when I received it for her, her hand slipped into the hole and…that happened."

"So she's wearing the relic?" Kuwabara asked, watching as Kagome delivered open hand strike after open hand strike to the shrieking child. "Is she trying to spank him?"

"Get away from me!" Weylin yelled, throwing his power at the armoured Kagome.

The attack didn't hurt her, but it did push her back. It didn't hinder her enough for him to escape, and he was soon being hounded again. He tried to run from her, but the armor made her faster than him. He attempted to incapacitate her with his will, but it bounced away harmless. He didn't even try to physically assault her for he knew she would feel nothing within the suit. He had come across it before.

She delivered a blow to the back of his head with an impact so strong he fell to the ground and skid across the ground. Before he could come to a stop, she appeared before him and punted him in the opposite direction.

Weylin stumbled to his feet and faced her with unabashed crying. "Please!" he cried. "I don't want to go back in there!"

"You're not." He heard her say, the voice audible despite the lack of a mouth. Though her movements were quick and fierce, her voice sounded as weak as the dying.

She delivered a swift uppercut to his chin and as he flew upward, she jumped up to meet him.

"I didn't do anything!"

She ignored him and delivered an elbow to drive him down. As he hit the ground he bounced and landed on his feet.

"It's not my fault!" he continued to yell as he attempted to dodge her every move. "I didn't mean it!"

He was getting better at dodging, but her strikes were powered by miko and she left her mark upon him. He healed up after each strike, but he became more desperate and his tears fell harder.

"What did I do wrong?"

She delved a blow to his belly and he doubled over and coughed violently.

"I said I was sorry." He moaned.

She backed away, only to kick out and catch him in the chest. He flew into a tree and seemed to give up as he cried harder. He didn't wait long before Kagome was there before him. She hoisted him up with one arm and pinned him against the tree.

"Don't use that for too long." He told her in a saddened voice as he looked to where her eyes should be. "It uses your soul to work and prolong use will kill you."

Kagome was silent a moment as she stared at the crying boy. "Its okay." She finally told him. "You already killed me."

The arm that didn't hold him morphed into a stone blade, and with a swift and effective blow, she impaled him to the tree and started the process that would end him. Her miko powers began to work their way out from the point of impact. There was no healing that could counter it.

"I really am sorry." He sobbed.

"I know." She answered. "I don't blame you."

"Everyone else did. And they locked me away."

"They were wrong to do that to you."

"My mother hated me too, she was the one that put it all together. I rather death than that prison."

"That's no way for a kid to talk. They failed you."

He looked at her in confusion, showing her that the burn of the purification was creeping up his neck.

"You didn't ask for any of this. You're just a little kid with too much power. They feared you instead of love and discipline."

He cried harder.

"I wish it was different, but what's done can't be done."

He stopped crying and looked up at her with a look that she couldn't quite decipher. His face was now fully blackened from the purification and his body began to flake away like ash. The last thing she saw were his pleading grey eyes, but he managed to speak before he disintegrated. "I could've done something." But he never got the chance to prove it.

Sighing, Kagome removed her arm from the tree and turned to face the boys. They all looked exhausted and merely stared at her as she walked towards them.

"Hey." She greeted them lamely.

"Hey/" Kuwabara said back.

"You look naked." Yusuke added.

"Look." She began, ignoring him. "When I…power down this thing, or whatever it is that turns it off, I'm probably going to pass out, or die, because that's what I feel like."

"Don't say that, Kagome." Shippo pleaded, back in his child form.

"I'm just telling you guys as a warning."

"You're not going to die." Yusuke grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic."

"That's my arm over there." She said with an edge to her voice. "And what looks like some ribs and part of my shoulder. I've been battered and had my brain scrambled, this suit shuts down my pain receptors of something and its draining my damn soul to work. I have the right to be dramatic."

"Maybe Kurama can give you another tongue bath to help."

"I love you Shippo." She told him as she turned her back on them. "Catch my body, boys."

With her back to them, the stone covering began to melt away to reveal her bloodied and battered body. Where her left arm hung, the stone revealed nothing but a collection of blood that splattered onto the ground with nothing to hold it.

A groan escaped her lips and she fell backwards into them before the suit completely retreated. They called her name and they shook and clutched at her, but Kagome did not respond, she didn't move, and her breathing slowed to a halt. She was gone.

* * *

She felt like the dead. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton and any effort to open them seemed to drain her energy more and more. She attempted to move, to sit up, but she only managed to get a twitch of a response which was followed by a loss of consciousness.

* * *

The next time she woke she heard voices. They were low and muffled and she couldn't decipher what they were saying, but she was certain they were near. There were multiple voices bouncing into her ear, and as one drew closer she felt something cold and wet touched her face. Though her face was slightly numb, she guessed that it was a towel that had been placed on her face. A gentle pressure around her eyes let her know that someone was cleaning her face. Someone was taking care of her.

She attempted to speak, to let them know that she was waking up, but her throat was too dry and sticky. Her mouth wouldn't open and her lips cracked as she tried to part them. The towel continued to caress her face, but when it got to her lips it gave her little soothing. She would have smiled at their care, but her cheeks refused to listen to her.

'_Kagome_.'

Her name was whispered and she felt a hand smoothing out her hair. She wanted to answer; let them know she was awake, but even as she thought about it, her name was growing fainter as it resounded against the walls of her mind. Her already dark world grew darker.

* * *

Someone slapped her in the face with the floor. Though her body was still numb and she couldn't really move, she knew what it was like to have your nose pressed into tile.

"Look what you did!" she heard someone shout.

"Don't blame this on me." Another voice countered vehemently. "You started this?"

"It's both of our faults, okay. Now help me get her up before someone walks in."

At her unknown assailants' mercy, Kagome could only lay on the ground as hands suddenly accosted her. They were rough and jittery but quick. She felt herself being turned over onto her bacl and hoisted into the air. She hung lamely between their arms for less than a second before she was abruptly deposited on a softer surface. She hoped it was a bed.

"Did she have that cut on her forehead before we knocked her over?"

_'Cut?'_ she managed a groan at this. It was supposed to be an angry, I'm going to kill you when I get up from here, growl. But it only came out as a pathetic moan.

"Let's go before she wakes up."

She didn't hear the other one confirm, but she assumed he did if the sound of retreating feet meant anything. She growled loudly to an empty room. Wishing for the day when she would be able to fully awaken.

* * *

When she felt the cool air of the a/c she felt that she was ready to get up. That and fear of whatever happened to her last time she was conscious.

Her eyes were heavy, but she was able to blink. The light was too bright, but it was light. She blinked; long and slow.

A figure stood over her, tall, dark, and red, but her vision was blurry and she couldn't get any details off of him.

"Doctor!" the figure called out, gesturing frantically before leaning over her closely. "I think she's waking up."

She blinked again and her vision cleared, but the figure that had been towering over her was gone and replaced by a small child.

"Hey sleepy head1" Shippo greeted her enthusiastically.

Thankfully her body responded to her will this time and she was able to speak. Only if wheezing was the equivalent of speaking.

"Here, let me help you." Hopping off of her bed, Shippo grabbed a water bottle and held it her lips. Slowing pouring the liquid he used his little paw to step on a remote near her hand. She tried to sigh as the bed rose, but she began to choke instead. Shippo quickly took away the bottle and began to pat her on the back.

"And how are we feeling this fine day?" Dr. Caeli asked as he appeared by her side and shined a bright light into her eyes.

"I'm fine." She said horsley as she flinched away from the light. "Where am I?"

"You're in my Lord's infirmary."

"I'm still in the demon world?" she asked, turning towards Shippo who grinned happily at her and nodded. "How long have I been here?"

"Five months." The doctor answered for her as he moved to the other side of the bed.

She shot up at this in alarm, but as she pushed herself up, she fell to one side. Straightening up to see what had pulled her down and only say her arm. It looked like her arm; it was attached to her body, but she couldn't comprehend the sight of it. And the fact that she couldn't feel it didn't help.

"What is that?"

"That's…your arm."

"You managed to save it?" her voice was low with detachment.

"Yes. The doctor and the boys hadn't gone far before the fight ended. I called them back and rushed you hear."

Kagome continued to stare at the appendage.

"Lui had to be tranqulized to keep from freaking out." Shippo's voice seemed to lighten up at this. "In fact, we have to administer a dose every three days."

Looking up, Kagome noticed for the first time, that the bed next to her was occupied. Lui lay peacefully to her left, arms strapped to the bed, and an IV drip going into his arm.

"At least he gets to be close to you."

"Did you tattoo me?" she asked, ignoring the sleeping, drugged prince.

"That will be the scales." Dr. Caeli answered for her as she ran a hand over the arm. What she assumed to be tattoo were in fact scales. She could feel the raised texture under her fingers. They weren't too obvious and she only say them after the doctor had moved and the light reflected off of them. The scales were the color of her skin, but were separated by a pattern of startlingly white lines and shone with a slight green hue. The entire arm was covered with them.

"Your back is in a similar state. Due to the snake venom in your blood stream, any new skin that you will grow will contribute to your collection of scales."

"So when the dead skin cells fall off, I'll have scales waiting underneath?"

"No, my dear. Human skin is quite thick. You'll only grow scales in cases of burns or abrasions. Any scarring event will result in the scales."

"Don't worry, Kagome." Shippo reassured her after seeing her distress. "They're beautiful."

"I can't go around with scales, Shippo." She countered with heat in her voice. "I'm human. Humans don't have scales."

"They might just think they're tattoos?" he offered.

"Why can't I move it?" she asked, still upset.

"My guess is that the nerves are still growing." The doctor told her.

"Guess? What do you mean, guess? Don't you know what you're doing?"

"To be honest, miss, I did not think a reattachment would even be possible. The arm was detached for too long without being on ice. Most of the cells had died by the time we made it to the medical unit. You had died twice making it here."

"I died?" She asked for confirmation rather than disbelief.

"DOA. But the lord saved you and your vitals leveled out."

"How did you save me?" she asked turning to Shippo.

Smiling, he hopped to the other side of the bed and lifted up the relic. "When you're in contact with it, it gives you a boost or something. It doesn't heal, but it kept you from dying."

"I thought you guys had broken it when the attack first happened. I heard someone say to do it."

"Yeah, we were." He dropped it to the floor, disturbing the relatively quiet room with the loud impact. "It's really hard to break. Good thing we didn't, eh?"

"Is that how you were able to reattach the arm?"

"No. Like my lord said, it does not have healing power. I did not feel it would work _to_ reattach it, by my lord insisted. Miraculously, after a few weeks, the dead cells began to reanimate and blood flow began to circulate in the limb once again. All the dead flesh fell off and your new shiny scales waited beneath it."

"Why?"

"A mystery." The doctor told her as he finished checking her vitals and equipment. "It would seem the gods want you to live."

"Would you like me to take Master Lui off the…"

"Not at this instant." Shippo interrupted him. "That'll be all doctor."

With a nod and bow to both Shippo and Kagome, Dr. Ceali left them alone to the sounds of Lui's snoring.

"You going to be okay, Kagome?" he asked the silent girl after a minute or so of silence.

She couldn't feel or move her arm, she was groing scales, five months of her life were spent in a coma. She thought about the nightmares she was sure to have from killing a child. She thought of a sad child with too much power and not enough love. A child without discipline who had been locked away, alone for years. She saw his crying face and the knowledge that it was too late for him; that if there was only a reset button, she could've save him. She thought of the mistakes his parents had made and the ones she was sure to avoid. Finally she looked up at Shippo, and seeing the concern on his face, she smiled as she rubbed her stomach.

"I'm going to be just fine."

* * *

"Kagome!" Shippo yelled as he came running into her private room and leaping onto the bed with her.

After waking up and not relapsing, shippo had her moved into a guest room while she continued healing. To anybody else, the room would have been the master suite of some fine and glamourous hotel, but to a Lord of the western Land, it was just a measly guest room with vaulted cielings, plush furniture, Paul bunyan sized canopy bed, and a window wall that let in tons of natural light.

Next to her bed was a wheelchair. Five months with no movement and poor circulation made it hard to walk when your legs were unresponsive. Unlike her arm, the doctor reassured her of her leg's recovery and that with routine therapy she'd be up and being clumsy in no time soon. Her arm she kept in a sling; hating for it to just hang listlessly by her side.

"You have company!" Shippo told her, just as the Spirit Detectives along with Koenma walked into the room, all carrying flowers.

"Aw!" Kagome squealed. "You guys shouldn't have."

"That's what I said," Yusuke commented as they set her flowers down on various counters before coming to surround her bed. "but we decided to make your day."

"You're still the charmer." He grunted in response.

"How are you feeling?" Kurama asked.

"Considering my surroundings and company, I'm doing pretty well."

"How are you feeling despite those things?" Hiei countered in his own show of concern, by being blunt, gruff, and insensitive.

"I have a dead arm, I can't walk, and I'm slowly turning into a scaled, freak of nature, but I'm going to be fine."

"Miss Higurashi, I will just like to say, on the behalf of the spirit world and King Enma, thank you for all that you've done and that we are deeply sorry for your current state. On completion of the mission, I will like to offer you a position with…" he paused as Kagome mumbled something to Shippo, but when they both smiled deeply at him he stopped.

"Is there a problem?"

"No." she anwered. "No problem at all."

"Then what are you two smiling at? Was it something I said?"

"Yeah." She said cheerfully. "You said you were sorry. But you're not."

"I assure you. I am deeply sorry."

"No you're not. But you will be."

"What are you talking about?" Koenma asked after almost choking on his pacifier.

"Well, I've been talking it over with Shippo, and weighed the pros and cons in my head. After all the trauma that I've been through, I think it is in my best interst to file a lawsuit against you."

"W-what?" In his shock, Koenma dropped his pacifier as all looked at her in shock. "Under what grounds?"

"Well let me see," she held up her hand and began counting. "uh, 1. Kidnapping, 2. Stalking. You had your goons stalk me down to my very school where they 3. Harassed me. Then I meet you and number four comes into play: false imprisonment and 5. Forced labor."

"You can't do th…"

"I'm not finished and since I've run out of fingers, let me just list it out. There was attempted murder, threats, _rape_, molestation, poisoning, reckless indangerment, and bodily harm."

"You can't be serious."

"I _died_! How many times, Shippo?"

"Twice." He announced smugly, enjoying his role as instigator.

"Twice." She repeated with pursed lips. "Oh yeah, I'm suing."

"You can't sue my team!" a flabbergasted Koenma managed to spit out.

"I'm not suing your team. I'm suing you and the spirit world. They work fo you, don't they?"

"You're insane. No one will take your case."

"Sesshomaru might." Shippo piped in.

"You think?" Kagome played along.

"Oh sure. He used to be a lawyer in the human world. I'm sure he'll enjoy the challenge of being the first person to sue the Spirit world. Oh, he'll have a field day. Probably keep him off my back for a few more decades."

Shippo clapped his hands in satisfaction. "Kagome gets justice, Sesshomaru gets entertainment, and I'm being a public nuisance. It all works out perfectly for everyone."

"We're not in trouble though, right?" Kuwabara asked, trying to make sure. "Just him?"

"You got it!" Kagome clarified with a thumb up.

"Then it does work out for everyone!" Yusuke agreed and they all laughed good naturedly. All except Koenma, who was getting angrier by the second, especially as he looked at his pacifier touching the dirty floor.

"Shut up!" he snapped. "What is this? The end of sitcom? It just got real!"

* * *

She was pretty sure now. About what had really happened.

The cryptic last words haunted her dreams along with the stormy eyes. Countless dream upon dream upon dream about the crying, whining, about swollen bodies, and undying love. He had said he could've done something and she think he succeeded. Maybe. She had her doubts, but the clues kept stacking up.

She had been home with family for months now, and life was relatively normal. She had been use to missing school before, hunting for the jewel, but she had never been gone as long as long as she had with the detectives. The weeks hunting the relics plus months of recovery had her a high school flunk out. Thankfully she had the spirit world in her pocket, a cutthroat former feudal lord as her attorney, and a demon lord of the western lands as her cuddly buddy. Her transcripts were wiped clean and she was currently undergoing homeschooling from some of the best tutors in the world.

All female tutors now. She had peculiar interactions with the males, and the higher the prowess and suitability, the stranger the interaction. With the dreams, the accelerated, and impossible, healing, and the uncontrollable release of pheromones when in the presence of suitable males, Kagome was certain that while Weylin was dead, he wasn't entirely gone. She lay in her bed, looking at the ceiling, trying not to think about the obvious, when her mother poked her head into her room.

"Kagome, dear." She called out sweetly with a smile. "You have a visitor."

"Ok mom, thanks. I'll be down in a second."

She didn't get up until her mom had shut the door. She didn't need to do much to present herself, her hair was in a ponytail and she was full clothed, but if anything would take time, it would be her arm. Still not being able to move it, she usually kept it in a sling or in a jacket pocket. In warmer weather, she just stuffed her hand into her pants pocket, as she did now. A casual look that was quick and easy to pull off while keeping her invalid arm from looking too awkward and drawing attention.

As she trotted down stairs, she expected to see one of her friends from school, or Sesshomaru for another case session, or even Shippo who was known to stop by and stay for prolonged times, but what she didn't expect to see was Kurama. She hesistated at the sight of him, but only momentarily. He smiled unsurely at her, and as she made it to the foyer, her family quickly went to pretending they were doing something other than watching Kurama.

"Hey." She greeted. "If Koenma sent you here to change my mind, you're going to be disappointed."

"That's is not why I'm here." He answered. "Would you…do you mind if we talk, privately?"

Looking back at her obviously nosy family, she agreed. "Yeah. I'll be back soon." She told them before she and Kurama stepped out.

They walked in silence for a small duration and Kagome just pretended she was giving him a tour of the shrine. She also pretended she didn't smell him with every step he took and on every breeze that wafted pass her nose. If she were to acknowledge it, she knew that she had a similar effect on his sense and she praised him for his self-control. There wouldn't be aany cause to render someone unconscious today. Even with one arm, she found that she was an incredible one punch knockout. After the knockout though, she did realize they had less of an effect on her too. They were weak.

"I came today to apologize." Kurama suddenly speaking snapped her out of her thoughts and she realized that he had stopped walking.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I came to apologize." He repeated.

"For what? I'm suing your boss, no need to feel sorry."

"No." he said again, his voice determined. "I never apologized for what happened…between us."

"Oh." Catching on to what he was apologizing for, she blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah. Right, apology accepted." _'No need to ever bring it up again.'_

"That's not the only thing I came to say." He told her, before she could dismiss his apology.

She looked at him expectantly. "What is it?"

"I'm only apologizing for _how_ it happened. I'm not sorry that it did."

"That's great fuel for this lawsuit. I only regret not having a recorder." She turned to leave but he stepped into her path.

"It was wrong about what happened. I apologise for how it made you feel. For your violation. For mine. I was as much as a victim as you were. When Youko takes control, I am aware but inable to control my body. I am a prisoner inside my own mind."

"So you remember all of it?" she asked, her face reddening further.

"Yes. I was witness to everything."

"So what are you getting at?" she asked, trying to get the meeting over with.

"Despite the shame and embarassement that you felt, on both of our parts…I cannot get the thought of you out of my mind."

She blinked slowly. Afraid to breathe as he stared heatedly into her eyes.

"That night, I was weak in more ways than one. I should've resisted harder. Resisted you."

She couldn't say anything, but she thought that this had to be the most awkward conversation she ever had.

"I just needed you to know that, and I hope, if the thought doesn't distress you, that we could start over."

"Uh…" was her articulate response.

Kurama backed away and lowered his eyes. "I'll take my leave now, and hopefully with favorable thoughts."

"Yeah, okay. Bye."

His hair seemed to fall at her parting, and with a brisk nod, he turned and walked away. She watched him until he disappeared down the steps, and once he was gone she let out the breath she was holding. Looking back at her house, she saw the curtains fall back into place as her family tried to hide the fact that they were spying.

Rolling her eyes, she looked back to the steps and couldn't look away. She tried to pretend it was just the remaining pheromones in the air that made her want to go after him, but she couldn't truly believe it. It was the hormones fault.

Frustrated with herself, she stamped her foot and kicked up the dirt before she ran behind him. He was half way down the steps by the time she got to him. He heard her approach and stopped so she could catch up. To say that his demeanor wasn't hopeful would have been a lie.

"Kagome?" he questioned, his voiced sounding cautious.

"I guess, well it would only be fair to say," she told him, sounding like a teenager being forced to do something they didn't want to. "that, while the…thing…"

"The happening." He offered.

"Yes, the happening. Well while the _happening _was happening, I was under glamour and forced to feel the _urge_. But it started wearing off after a time, and…when, by the time you, as in the redhead you, were, when you joined, or took over…" she struggled to find the words to describe what she was trying to say.

She sighed and looked him in the eye. "Look, I just could've fought harder at the end, okay."

He stepped closer to her, invading her space and quickening her heart rate. "What are you saying?"

She turned away in embarrassment. "I think you know." She breathed out, and when he gently gripped her chin and forced her to look at him, she had to catch it.

He leaned in closer to her, pulling her lips closer to his. She found his green eyes harder to resist than the golden orbs that had seduced her earlier. They were kinder, warmer. She didn't remember all of the 'happening' but the green eyes had been the better part of it. She closed her eyes in anticipation. She could feel his breath on her lips, and she attempted to lean into him, but as a breeze caressed her face, cooling her heated encounter, his presence backed off. Fast.

Opeing her eyes in confusion, she saw that Kurama had fallen down the steps and sat on his behind, staring up at her in surprise. She saw that his shirt had been cut at chest height.

A noise drew her attention to her left where she saw Hiei sheathing his katana and staring down at the fallen Kurama. He glanced at Kagome from the corner of his eye before standing up to his full height and regarding Kurama once more, who seemed to be annoyed.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked, just as Kurama made a move to get up. And just as fast, Hiei attacked. Kagome didn't see it when it happened, but Kurama was suddenly further away, the blade of Hiei's katana buried in the stone closest to his groin and his face ashen white.

Smiling smugly, and before Kagome could react, Hiei had her by the collar of her shirt and in what she would call, the most passionate kiss any romance novelist would die to have come up with.

He set her aflame, her blood reacting strongly to his fiery nature. There was nothing romantic about the kiss, not loving and fully dominating. He stole her breath and made her want to give him more. Her lips actually tingled where he devoured them and the hand he had clamped to the back of her neck made her want to feel more of him. There was a battle going on inside her mouth. Any move she thought of to add to the kiss, he shot down with his tongue and would bite and nip at her lip whenever they would move. He suckled at her lip and ran his tongue over them to soothe them. At the end, while she was out of breath and sweating, she found herself leaning into him as he backed away.

With Kagome trying to calm herself by his side, Hiei turned to Kurama with a superior façade.

"This will not be that easy, fox."

Getting control of his facial expression, a golden eyed Kurama gave Hiei the look equivalent to that of a yellow traffic light. Try to beat me, if you dare.

And Hiei's response was the heart of all true road warriors. Challenge accepted.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm done. It might have a few errors, but I wanted to get this story done by the end of the month. You would've gotten this chapter earlier, but I never came to a stopping point and it just got longer and longer. I probably should have just presented this as two chapters, but it never seemed the right time or mood to cut it off.

Again, I am done, this is the last chapter. I know there are loose ends and unanswered questions, I did it on purpose. I might, because I had it in mind, create a one-shot side piece. But don't count on it. I started writing this when I was thirteen, and the story has evolve along with me and the story and plotline, and even the ending has changed in so many ways. It's been fun, now go read Mors Mortis Miko.


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